Black Friday 2026 Dates by Store: When Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Costco Start
Black Friday 2026 is Friday, 27 November, the day after Thanksgiving. But for most big stores it's the end of the sale, not the start. Costco and Best Buy started early Black Friday deals on 30 October, Target starts 1 November, and Walmart's early event begins 12 November. Here's every major store's schedule in one place, and how to use it so you don't pay early-bird prices for deals that come back cheaper later.
The dates, store by store
| Store | Event | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Costco | Early Black Friday | Starts Oct 30 |
| Thanksgiving deals (online only) | Nov 26 | |
| Best Buy | DoorBOOsters | Oct 30 – Nov 1 |
| Early Black Friday + doorbusters | Starts Nov 6 | |
| Black Friday sale | Nov 19 – 28 | |
| Cyber Monday | Nov 29 – 30 | |
| Target | Black Friday Deals of the Day | Starts Nov 1 |
| Early Black Friday sale | Starts Nov 5 | |
| Walmart | Early Black Friday deals | Nov 12 – 15 |
| Black Friday deals | Nov 23 – 29 | |
| Cyber Monday | Nov 30 – Dec 2 | |
| Home Depot | Black Friday Savings Event | Nov 5 – 25 |
| Black Friday doorbusters | Starts Nov 27 | |
| Cyber Monday | Starts Nov 30 | |
| Sam's Club | Weekend doorbusters | Nov 6 |
| Countdown to Black Friday | Nov 15 – 25 | |
| Black Friday | Nov 26 – 29 | |
| BJ's | Early Black Friday | Oct 23 – Nov 15 |
| LEGO | Insiders Weekend | Nov 21 – 22 |
| Black Friday sale | Nov 27 – 30 | |
| Amazon | Black Friday Week | Not announced yet |
Amazon hasn't announced its dates. In recent years its Black Friday sale has started about a week before Thanksgiving and run through Cyber Monday, so expect it around 19 or 20 November. Cyber Monday is 30 November.
Stores add and move events, so check the store's own deals page before you plan a trip.
Should you buy in the early sales?
Sometimes. Early Black Friday sales are a mix of three kinds of deal:
- The real thing, early. Some prices in the early sales are the same as on Black Friday itself. Retailers spread deals out so they're not all competing on one weekend.
- A preview at a worse price. Some items show up early at a modest discount and drop further on the day.
- Filler. Things that were never going to be much cheaper, with a "deal" badge.
The way to tell them apart is price history, not the badge. If a product's early price matches its lowest price of the past year, buying now is fine. If it doesn't, wait. Our guide to tracking price history shows how to check in a minute, and Black Friday fake discounts covers the tricks to watch for, like inflated "was" prices.
Two things that make early buying safer
Price adjustments. Some stores refund the difference if the price drops after you buy, within a set window. Best Buy and Target have offered price-match guarantees during the holiday season in past years, though they sometimes exclude Black Friday doorbusters. Check the current policy before relying on it; our page on which stores price match covers the details.
Extended holiday returns. Most big stores extend their return windows for purchases made in November and December, often into January. If you buy early and the price drops elsewhere, you can return and rebuy.
What to buy on which date
- TVs, laptops, headphones, tablets: the biggest discounts usually land in Black Friday week itself. Watch the Best Buy and Walmart main events.
- Bulk household, gift cards, appliances: Costco and Sam's Club are worth checking early.
- Toys: Target and Walmart compete hard; LEGO's own sale is Black Friday weekend.
- Tools: Home Depot's event runs most of November.
For the full list of what's usually a real deal and what to skip, see what to buy on Black Friday. For whether to wait for Monday, see Cyber Monday vs Black Friday.
The Priced app lets you scan a product in the store and see what it costs elsewhere, which is the fastest way to tell a doorbuster from a display.
Common questions
When does Black Friday 2026 start?
Black Friday itself is 27 November 2026. Early sales start much earlier: Costco and Best Buy on 30 October, Target on 1 November and Walmart on 12 November.
When is Walmart's Black Friday sale in 2026?
Walmart's early Black Friday deals run 12 to 15 November, its main Black Friday event 23 to 29 November, and Cyber Monday deals 30 November to 2 December.
When is Cyber Monday 2026?
Monday, 30 November 2026. Many stores run Cyber Monday deals across that weekend and into early December.
Are early Black Friday deals as good as Black Friday?
Some are identical, some get cheaper on the day, and some aren't deals at all. Check the item's price history: if the early price matches its lowest price of the year, buy it.