When Do Black Friday Ads Start? 2025 Tracker + Predictions

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If you're waiting for Black Friday ads to drop so you can plan your November strategy, I have news you need to hear: there's no single "ad drop day" anymore.

The traditional model—major retailers releasing printed circular ad scans the week before Thanksgiving—is mostly dead. It's been replaced by a chaotic multi-week rollout where retailers announce deals via press releases, dedicated landing pages, and social media at wildly different times from late October through Thanksgiving week.

According to The Krazy Coupon Lady's analysis, which tracks Black Friday ad releases across hundreds of retailers annually, the shift away from traditional "ad scans" toward digital-first announcements has fundamentally changed how and when retailers communicate their holiday promotions.

This creates both a problem and an opportunity. The problem: you can't plan around a fixed date anymore. The opportunity: early ad drops give you actionable intelligence weeks before Black Friday, allowing you to adjust your strategy while competitors are still guessing.

This guide tracks when major retailers typically announce Black Friday deals, provides 2025 predictions based on historical patterns, and—most importantly—gives you the playbook for reacting within hours (not days) when competitor ads drop.

The Death of Traditional Ad Scans

Let's start with what changed and why it matters for your 2025 planning.

How It Used to Work (Pre-2020)

The old model was predictable and retailer-friendly. Major chains would produce full-color printed advertising circulars—often 20-40 pages—showcasing their Black Friday doorbusters, featured categories, and promotional schedules. These circulars were distributed as newspaper inserts the week of Thanksgiving.

Deal blogs (The Krazy Coupon Lady, Brad's Deals, Slickdeals) obtained these "ad scans" early—sometimes through retail employees, sometimes through printing/distribution partners—and published them online 1-2 weeks before Thanksgiving. Shoppers would comparison-shop across retailers' full ad lineups, and retailers competed on being "first" or having the most aggressive doorbusters.

The predictability created planning advantages: retailers knew they needed ads finalized by early November for mid-November release, and marketers could benchmark against competitors' full promotional calendars with 2+ weeks to adjust strategy.

What Killed the Model

Three forces converged to make traditional ad scans obsolete:

1. Print media decline: Newspaper circulation collapsed, making print circulars expensive and inefficient for reaching customers who'd migrated to digital channels.

2. COVID-era shifts (2020-2021): Pandemic restrictions on in-store traffic pushed retailers fully online, where traditional printed ads offered no advantage. Digital-first promotion became necessity, then preference.

3. Strategic flexibility: Printed ads lock retailers into pricing and inventory commitments weeks in advance. Digital announcements allow last-minute adjustments based on competitor moves and real-time inventory data.

According to The Krazy Coupon Lady's tracking, major retailers increasingly favor press releases, email campaigns, and dedicated promotional landing pages over traditional printed circulars. This shift gives retailers more control but creates information asymmetry for competitors trying to benchmark.

What Replaced It

Instead of one coordinated "ad scan leak" week, we now have a rolling announcement period from late October through Thanksgiving week where retailers announce deals through multiple channels:

• Press releases: Official corporate announcements highlighting featured categories and promotional windows
• Dedicated landing pages: Website sections showcasing "Black Friday Preview" or "Holiday Deals Central" with rotating featured items
• Email campaigns: Subscriber-only "early access" or "sneak peek" communications with partial deal reveals
• Social media: Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok announcements targeting different demographic segments
• Mobile app push notifications: In-app alerts for customers who've downloaded retail apps

The result: no single "Black Friday ad drop day." Instead, a multi-week campaign where different retailers announce at different times, often withholding full details until days before Thanksgiving.

2025 Ad Drop Patterns: When Retailers Actually Announce

Based on 2022-2024 patterns, here's the realistic timeline for when major retailers will announce Black Friday 2025 promotions.

Late October (Oct 20-31): The Early Movers

Who typically announces: Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy

What they announce: "Early Black Friday" events, October promotional calendars, and preview access to select deals. Not full Black Friday lineups, but enough to signal category focus and discount intensity.

Why it matters: These early announcements shape consumer expectations for the entire season. If Walmart announces 40% off toys in late October, other toy retailers face immediate pressure to match or explain why their products are worth full price.

In 2024, Amazon announced Prime Big Deal Days (October 8-9) in late September, effectively moving "Black Friday preview" promotions into early October. Competitors followed with parallel October events announced in the same window.

2025 prediction: Expect major chains to announce October promotional calendars and "early Black Friday access" programs October 20-28, with full details following in early November.

Early November (Nov 1-10): The Preview Wave

Who typically announces: Department stores (Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney), home improvement (Home Depot, Lowe's), specialty retailers (GameStop, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bath & Body Works)

What they announce: Black Friday "preview" events, early access for loyalty members, and partial featured deal lists. This is positioning and expectation-setting, not full promotional calendars.

Why it matters: Second-tier retailers use early November to capture shoppers' attention before the Thanksgiving week chaos. Early announcements also drive email list sign-ups by promising "exclusive early access" to subscribers.

2025 prediction: November 3-7 will see a cluster of preview announcements from mid-market and specialty retailers trying to establish presence before Thanksgiving week noise drowns them out.

Mid-November (Nov 10-17): Peak Announcement Period

Who announces: Nearly everyone—this is when the majority of retail announcements concentrate.

What they announce: Comprehensive promotional calendars, featured doorbuster lists, exact sale start times, and loyalty program details. This is the information-rich period where you can actually compare competitor strategies.

Why it matters: This is your intelligence window. The 7-10 days between mid-November announcements and Thanksgiving execution give you time to adjust pricing, create competitive bundle offers, and finalize your promotional messaging.

According to The Krazy Coupon Lady's multi-year tracking data, mid-November consistently delivers the highest concentration of detailed promotional announcements across all retail categories.

2025 prediction: November 10-14 will be the densest announcement period, with major retailers releasing comprehensive Black Friday plans. Set alerts for this window and dedicate team resources to competitive analysis.

Thanksgiving Week (Nov 24-27): Final Additions & Adjustments

Who announces: Laggards, competitive responders, and retailers making last-minute adjustments based on competitor moves.

What they announce: Final doorbuster additions, extended hours, last-minute competitive matches, and "surprise" flash sale windows.

Why it matters: This is tactical adjustment period. You're not reshaping strategy Thanksgiving week—you're making marginal tweaks to match unexpected competitor moves or capitalize on their mistakes.

2025 prediction: Thanksgiving Day (November 27) will see a flurry of "our sale starts NOW" announcements as retailers open online shopping early, but these won't contain strategic surprises if you've tracked mid-November announcements properly.

Live Retailer-by-Retailer Tracker (Updated Daily)

Here's our continuously updated tracker showing when major retailers have announced (or are predicted to announce) Black Friday 2025 promotions.

How to React in Hours When Competitor Ads Drop

Speed matters. When Walmart announces Black Friday deals at 8 AM, Target's competitive response starts by noon, and smaller retailers who wait 2-3 days miss the window entirely.

Here's your hour-by-hour playbook for reacting to major competitor ad releases.

Hour 0-2: Intelligence Gathering

Immediate actions:

• Capture competitor's full announcement (press release, landing page screenshots, email copy)
• Identify their hero products (what they're featuring most prominently)
• Note their doorbuster pricing (loss leaders designed to drive traffic)
• Document sale timing (when sales start, end, what's early access vs. general availability)
• Check if they're offering free shipping or minimum thresholds

Tools: Set Google Alerts for "[Competitor Name] Black Friday", use retailer tracking tools like Keepa or CamelCamelCamel to verify claimed discounts are genuine, screenshot everything for reference.

Team involvement: This is marketing/competitive intelligence work. You need one person whose job is monitoring major competitors daily during October-November and immediately escalating when significant announcements drop.

Hour 2-4: Strategic Decision

Decision framework: For each major competitor announcement, you have three strategic options:

Option 1: Match pricing

• When: Competitor has priced identical products you carry at margins you can sustain
• How: Update your website pricing to match or beat by small increment ($5-10)
• Risk: Margin erosion if you match everywhere; be selective

Option 2: Bundle response

• When: Competitor has priced products lower than you can profitably match
• How: Create bundles where you combine the item with accessories/complementary products for perceived value above competitor's standalone offering
• Messaging: "Why buy just [product] when you can get [product + accessories] for the same price?"

Option 3: Differentiation

• When: Competitor has significant structural advantages (Amazon scale, Walmart logistics, etc.) that you can't match on price
• How: Emphasize what you offer that they don't—expertise, service, faster regional shipping, local pickup, specialized knowledge
• Messaging: "You'll pay less at [Competitor], but here's what you won't get..."

Critical rule: You don't need to respond to everything. Pick 5-10 hero products where you can win or compete effectively. Concede categories where you have no advantage.

Hour 4-8: Execution

Website updates:

• Update pricing on matched/competitive products
• Create or update comparison tables showing your advantages
• Add homepage banner: "We've matched/beaten [Competitor]'s Black Friday deals + added..."

Email campaign:

• Draft email to engaged subscribers (opened in last 30 days)
• Subject line: "Better than [Competitor]: Here's What We're Offering for Black Friday"
• Content: 3-5 competitive examples with clear CTAs
• Send within 6-8 hours of competitor announcement

Social media:

• Post 1-2 examples of your competitive response
• Use images/graphics showing side-by-side comparisons
• Emphasize speed: "They announced this morning, we've already matched/beaten it"

Hour 8-24: Amplification

SMS (if opted-in list):

• Send short message highlighting your best competitive offer
• Keep under 160 characters: "[Competitor] announced BF deals. We matched + added free shipping. See: [link]"
• Only send if offer is genuinely compelling—don't burn SMS goodwill on weak messaging

Paid advertising adjustment:

• Update Google Shopping feed with competitive pricing
• Adjust paid search bids for high-value keywords where you're now competitive
• Launch retargeting ads to recent visitors showcasing new competitive offers

Team brief:

• Update customer service team on competitive positioning
• Provide talking points for why your offer equals or beats competitor
• Anticipate questions about price matching and have clear policy ready

Tools & Methods for Tracking Ad Releases

You can't react fast if you don't know when announcements happen. Here's how to set up automated monitoring.

Google Alerts (Free)

Set up Google Alerts for each major competitor using these search strings:

• "[Competitor Name] Black Friday 2025"
• "[Competitor Name] holiday deals"
• "[Competitor Name] announces"

Configure alerts for "as-it-happens" delivery to get emails within minutes of indexed content appearing. This catches press releases and major news coverage but may miss social-only announcements.

RSS Feeds from Retail News Sites

Add RSS feeds from deal tracking sites to your reader:

• The Krazy Coupon Lady: Maintains comprehensive retailer-by-retailer Black Friday coverage
• Brad's Deals: Curates major retail announcements
• Slickdeals: User-generated deal postings often surface announcements quickly

These sites have teams dedicated to tracking retail announcements, making them often faster than general news sources.

Social Media Monitoring

Follow major competitors' official social accounts and set mobile notifications for posts. Many retailers announce deals via Instagram Stories or TikTok before press releases go out.

Tools like Hootsuite or Buffer allow you to create "streams" monitoring multiple competitor accounts from a single dashboard.

Email Newsletter Subscriptions

Subscribe to your competitors' email lists using a dedicated email address (e.g., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). You'll often receive early access or "exclusive subscriber" previews before public announcements.

Create email filters that flag competitor messages as "urgent" so your team sees them immediately.

Retail PR Wire Services

PR Newswire and Business Wire (subscription required) publish retail press releases often 1-2 hours before they hit general news feeds. If Black Friday competitive intelligence is critical to your business, these paid services provide speed advantage.

Owner Strategy: Turning Ad Intelligence Into Revenue

Tracking when ads drop is only useful if you have a strategy for using that intelligence. Here's the playbook from October through Black Friday.

October Strategy: Early Positioning

When major retailers announce October promotions (Prime Big Deal Days, Walmart's October events), your goal isn't matching those promotions—it's positioning for November/December.

What to do:

• Note which categories competitors discount heavily in October (electronics, toys, home goods)
• Assume similar or deeper discounting will appear Black Friday—plan accordingly
• Use October announcements to estimate competitor Black Friday strategies
• Build email list aggressively with "get exclusive Black Friday early access" incentives

October competitor ads are reconnaissance. You're gathering intelligence, not engaging in full competitive response.

Early November Strategy: Preparation

When "preview" announcements start appearing November 1-10, begin finalizing your Black Friday strategy.

What to do:

• Identify 10-15 hero products where you can compete effectively
• Determine match/bundle/differentiate strategy for each
• Prepare email sequences timed to competitor announcement windows
• Draft social media content with blanks for competitor-specific examples
• Brief your team on likely competitive scenarios and response protocols

You're building playbooks during early November. When mid-November announcements hit, you execute pre-planned responses rather than scrambling.

Mid-November Strategy: Competitive Execution

When major announcements drop November 10-17, this is your active engagement period.

What to do:

• Execute hour-by-hour response playbook (outlined above) for major competitor announcements
• Update your promotional calendar based on competitive timing
• Finalize "we've matched [Competitor]" messaging for email/SMS/social deployment
• Adjust paid media budget to capitalize on competitive gaps

This is when speed and decisiveness matter most. Competitor announcements give you 7-10 days before Thanksgiving to optimize your positioning.

Thanksgiving Week Strategy: Final Adjustments

Thanksgiving week is about execution and marginal tactical adjustments, not strategic shifts.

What to do:

• Monitor for unexpected competitor moves (surprise doorbusters, extended hours, flash sales)
• Be prepared to add small tactical promotions if competitor announces something you didn't anticipate
• Focus primarily on operational execution—your strategy should be locked by November 20

For the complete day-by-day Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday playbook, see our Cyber Week 2025 strategy guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Black Friday ads typically come out?

Black Friday ads no longer follow a single release schedule. Based on 2022-2024 patterns, major retailers announce in waves: late October (October 20-31) for early promotional calendars, early November (Nov 1-10) for preview access programs, mid-November (Nov 10-17) for comprehensive promotional details, and Thanksgiving week (Nov 24-27) for final additions. The heaviest concentration of detailed announcements occurs November 10-17, approximately 1-2 weeks before Thanksgiving.

Do retailers still release printed Black Friday ad scans?

Mostly no. According to The Krazy Coupon Lady's tracking, major retailers have largely abandoned traditional printed circular "ad scans" in favor of digital-first announcements via press releases, dedicated website landing pages, email campaigns, and social media. Some retailers still produce limited print circulars for in-store distribution, but the era of comprehensive 40-page ad scans leaked online weeks in advance is effectively over. Digital announcements give retailers more strategic flexibility to adjust pricing and promotions closer to Black Friday.

Which retailers announce Black Friday deals first?

Amazon, Walmart, and Target consistently rank among the earliest announcers, often releasing October promotional calendars and "early Black Friday" previews in late October (Oct 20-28). Best Buy, Home Depot, and major electronics retailers typically follow in early November. Department stores (Macy's, Kohl's, JCPenney) and specialty retailers announce primarily during the mid-November window (Nov 10-17). Smaller regional retailers and independent stores often announce latest, sometimes during Thanksgiving week itself.

How can I track when specific retailers announce their Black Friday deals?

Set up Google Alerts for "[Retailer Name] Black Friday 2025" with "as-it-happens" delivery. Subscribe to retailers' email lists to receive announcements directly. Follow deal tracking sites like The Krazy Coupon Lady, Brad's Deals, and Slickdeals which maintain retailer-by-retailer coverage. Follow retailers' official social media accounts with mobile notifications enabled. For critical competitive intelligence, consider PR wire services like PR Newswire which publish press releases 1-2 hours before general news coverage. Our tracker table above is updated daily with confirmed and predicted announcement dates.

What should I do when a competitor announces their Black Friday deals?

React within 2-8 hours using this framework: (Hour 0-2) Capture full competitive intelligence—hero products, pricing, timing, shipping offers. (Hour 2-4) Make strategic decision—match pricing, create competitive bundles, or emphasize differentiation. Don't try to respond to everything; pick 5-10 products where you can compete. (Hour 4-8) Execute website updates, send email to engaged subscribers, post social media comparisons. (Hour 8-24) Deploy SMS if warranted, adjust paid advertising, brief customer service team. Speed matters—retailers who respond within 6-8 hours capture comparison-shopping traffic while decisions are still fluid.

Should small businesses try to compete with Amazon and Walmart on Black Friday?

Not on price across the board—you'll lose. Instead, identify 5-10 products where you can match pricing while maintaining acceptable margins, create bundles Amazon/Walmart don't offer, or differentiate on service/expertise/speed they can't replicate. Use their ad announcements as intelligence to inform your strategy, not as a mandate to match everything. Emphasize what you offer that they don't: specialized knowledge, phone support, regional delivery speed, curated selection, local pickup convenience. Your advantage isn't scale—it's specialization and service.

When is the best time to announce my own Black Friday deals?

For most retailers, mid-November (Nov 10-17) offers the best balance: early enough that shoppers haven't committed to competitors but late enough that you've seen major competitor announcements and can position competitively. Announcing too early (October) burns promotional energy before customers are ready to buy. Announcing too late (Thanksgiving week) means shoppers have already formed shopping lists. Exception: if you offer "early access for subscribers," tease in early November and reveal full details mid-November—this builds list and drives engagement across multiple weeks.

How do Black Friday ads affect Cyber Monday strategy?

Black Friday ads preview retailer promotional strategies for the entire Cyber Week period (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday). If competitors discount electronics heavily on Black Friday, expect similar or deeper discounting on Cyber Monday. Use Black Friday announcements to forecast Cyber Monday intensity and plan accordingly. Many retailers now run continuous promotions Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday rather than distinct "Black Friday" vs "Cyber Monday" strategies. For complete Cyber Week planning, see our day-by-day Cyber Week guide.

What if a competitor's advertised deal is fake or misleading?

Use price tracking tools like CamelCamelCamel or Keepa to verify that advertised "discounts" are actually below historical pricing. If a competitor advertises "50% off" but the product was artificially inflated before the sale, you can ethically call this out: "Unlike [Competitor] who raised prices before their 'sale,' our pricing has been consistent—here's proof." Screenshot historical pricing as evidence. However, focus your messaging on your genuine value rather than attacking competitors—positive positioning works better than negative attacks for most audiences.

Do Black Friday ad drops differ by retail category?

Yes. Electronics retailers (Best Buy, B&H Photo) announce early-to-mid November because tech products have longer purchase consideration cycles. Fashion retailers (apparel, shoes) often announce later (mid-to-late November) because clothing purchasing is more impulse-driven. Toy retailers announce early November to help parents build gift lists before inventory constraints develop. Grocery and mass merchants (Walmart, Target, Costco) announce earliest because they use Black Friday to drive store traffic across all categories. Category timing reflects customer shopping behavior patterns.

Can I get advance notice before Black Friday ads are publicly released?

Sometimes, through several channels: (1) Subscribe to retailer email lists—some offer "VIP early access" to subscribers 24-48 hours before public announcement. (2) Follow retail trade publications which sometimes preview major announcements. (3) Monitor retailer investor relations pages where public companies occasionally preview promotional strategies in earnings calls or investor presentations. (4) Join retail industry associations which share competitive intelligence among members. (5) Network with retail employees who may have advance knowledge (ethically questionable and potentially violates employment agreements). Most reliably: build relationships with deal bloggers who aggregate announcements and often publish same-day.

How has the shift away from printed ads changed Black Friday strategy?

Digital-first announcements give retailers more strategic flexibility—they can adjust pricing closer to Black Friday, respond to competitors faster, and target different customer segments with different messages. For competing retailers, this means less advance warning and shorter reaction windows. The old model gave you 2+ weeks to respond to leaked ad scans; the new model gives you hours to respond to digital announcements. This rewards speed, decisiveness, and having pre-built response playbooks rather than deliberative strategy processes. It also means you can't simply copy competitor strategies wholesale—you need differentiated positioning that survives rapid competitive iteration.

Your Black Friday Ad Tracking Action Plan

You now understand that Black Friday "ad drops" aren't one event—they're a rolling series of announcements from late October through Thanksgiving week, and your competitive advantage comes from tracking them systematically and responding decisively.

Implementation Checklist

Set up monitoring (Do this today):

• Google Alerts for 10-15 major competitors
• RSS feeds from The Krazy Coupon Lady, Brad's Deals, Slickdeals
• Subscribe to competitor email lists
• Follow competitor social media accounts with notifications enabled
• Bookmark this tracker page and check it daily October-November

Build response playbooks (Do this by November 1):

• Identify your 10-15 hero products where you can compete
• Draft match/bundle/differentiate strategies for each
• Write email templates with competitor-specific blanks to fill
• Prepare social media graphics showing side-by-side comparisons
• Brief your team on who monitors competitors and how to escalate announcements

Execute responses (November 10-27):

• When major competitor announces, follow 0-8 hour response playbook
• Update tracker table above with confirmed announcement dates
• Adjust your promotional calendar based on competitive timing
• Focus on speed—6-8 hour response window captures comparison shoppers

The traditional Black Friday ad drop is dead. Long live the rolling announcement period that rewards speed, preparation, and decisive competitive response.

Continue your Q4 planning:

• Complete Q4 Holiday Marketing Calendar 2025
• Cyber Week 2025 Game Plan (Thanksgiving → Cyber Monday)
• Best Days to Run Holiday Sales in Q4 2025
• Prime Big Deal Days October 7-8: Your October Kickoff
• Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2025: USPS/UPS/FedEx Chart