The Black Friday Showdown
Black Friday is not one morning any more — it is three weeks of overlapping sales. So we lined up five stores the way a shopper actually plans them: the sale window, the exact start time, who gets in early, and the fine print hiding under each headline. Four stores have shown their dates. One is still holding its main week back.
Share on X ↗| Store | Sale window | It starts | Early access / membership | The headline | The fine print |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Black Friday Week & Cyber Monday: Thu Nov 19 – Mon Nov 30 | 12:01 a.m. PT, Thu Nov 19 | No membership needed for the event itself; some offers are Prime-only — check each deal page | Millions of deals, with a fresh themed drop every day for 12 days | On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, deals drop twice — at midnight and again at 8 a.m. PT — with savings up to 60% on those days. While supplies last, and deals can change. Check today's price at Amazon. |
| Best Buy | Early deals from Fri Nov 6 · Main event: Thu Nov 19 – Sat Nov 28 · Cyber Sun & Mon Nov 29–30 | Thu Nov 19 (opening time not yet announced) | No membership needed; My Best Buy Plus & Total members earn double rewards Nov 19 – Dec 6 | Ten full days of doorbusters and deals, with new deals dropping every Friday on the way in | Stores are closed Thanksgiving (the site and app stay open). The specific doorbuster list and a Black Friday opening time had not been published as of Nov 12. Holiday price-match covers Best Buy's own later price drops; most buys Oct 30 – Dec 31 return through Jan 15, 2027 (Jan 31 for Plus & Total members). |
| Kohl's | Black Friday Week: Sun Nov 22 – Sat Nov 28 · Cyber Deals Sun Nov 29 – Mon Nov 30 | Doorbusters online 12:01 a.m. CT, Thu Nov 26 · Stores 5 a.m., Fri Nov 27 | No membership needed | An extra 20% off qualifying purchases all week, plus $15 in Kohl's Cash for every $50 spent | Stores are closed Thanksgiving. The first 200 shoppers at each store on Black Friday get $5–$100 in instant Kohl's Cash, and the first 200 on Sat Nov 28 get a Sephora at Kohl's gift worth $5–$100 for that day. A sweepstakes runs Nov 27–30. Cyber Deals follow with 40% off qualifying purchases with a coupon. |
| Walmart | Early Black Friday: Thu Nov 12 – Sun Nov 15 · Main event: Mon Nov 23 – Sun Nov 29 · Cyber Monday Nov 30 – Dec 2, online only | 12:01 a.m. ET online · 6 a.m. in stores | Walmart+ members get the first 24 hours on select online-only hot Deal drops | Three sales in a row — 14 days of deals in total, with thousands of gifts under $20 | Stores are closed Thanksgiving, and the main event does not reach stores until 6 a.m. on Black Friday itself, even though it starts online Mon Nov 23. Member-first drops open to everyone the next morning at 12:01 a.m. ET — what is left, that is. |
| Target | Early Black Friday ran Thu Nov 5 – Sat Nov 7 · Main Black Friday week: not yet announced | Stores open 6 a.m., Fri Nov 27 | No membership needed | A new Deal of the Day every day from Nov 1 through Dec 24, with the next day's deal previewed a day ahead | Target has confirmed its early sale, its daily deals, its holiday price match (Nov 1 – Dec 24), closed Thanksgiving stores, and a 6 a.m. Black Friday opening — but as of Nov 12 it has not dated its main Black Friday week or published its Black Friday ad. More weekend offers are promised; we will update this page the day Target announces them. |
🏆 The verdicts
📅 Longest runway — Amazon
Twelve straight days, Thu Nov 19 through Cyber Monday Nov 30, with a themed drop every day and two drops on the two biggest days. If you can only watch one sale all season, this one covers the whole map.
⏰ Earliest doors — Kohl's, 5 a.m.
Kohl's opens an hour ahead of Walmart and Target on Black Friday morning — and rewards the line: the first 200 shoppers at each store get $5–$100 in instant Kohl's Cash. Its doorbusters start even earlier online, at 12:01 a.m. CT on Thanksgiving Day.
🛡️ Safest early buy — Best Buy
Best Buy's holiday price match means an early buy is not a gamble: if Best Buy drops its own price later in the season, it matches it. Add returns through mid-January and ten days of doorbusters from Nov 19, and tech shoppers can buy early without the usual worry.
👀 The one still to watch — Target
Target's main Black Friday week is the missing piece of the 2026 puzzle. The daily Deal of the Day and the 6 a.m. opening are confirmed — the week itself is not. Circle Fri Nov 27, 6 a.m. for the doors, and watch this page for the dates.
🚪 Doorbuster or all-week deal?
The practical helper: know which deals need an alarm clock and which ones wait for you. All times are for Black Friday, Fri Nov 27, 2026, unless noted.
Doorbuster energy: be early
Doorbuster energy: be early
Shop from the couch
No line needed — but stock still runs out
🛍️ This showdown has wrapped up
Black Friday 2026 is in the books, and so are these sale windows — they were checked on Thu, Nov 12, 2026, and the events above have ended. Cyber deals and the next holiday feature are already cooking.
See what's on at Holiday HQ →