Black Friday 2025 Ad Release Date Predictions

The release of Black Friday ads is one of the most exciting parts of the holiday shopping season. A holdover from the days of newspapers and printed advertisements, today’s ads are mostly digital. Some retailers don’t even release Black Friday ads anymore, opting to use press releases instead.

If you can’t wait to check out this year’s sale ads and announcements, you won’t want to miss our Black Friday 2025 ad release date predictions.

Why are Black Friday ads so popular?

Both shoppers and the media get excited for Black Friday ad scans for a few reasons:

1. They announce the stores’ Black Friday hours and sale dates: Ad scans let you know when Black Friday deals go live online and in stores. The early shopper gets the best bargain, so knowing when the sale starts is super important.

2. They display doorbuster deals: Black Friday ads announce which TVs will have the lowest prices and which popular toys and gaming systems will be on sale. Some ad scans are dozens of pages long and filled with discounts on everything from jewelry and electronics to appliances and apparel.

3. They give you a sense of the holiday shopping trends. Major retailers' Black Friday ads show what products are likely to be popular this year. It’s a great way to get gift ideas!

Black Friday ads always come out before the sale starts. To help you plan your holiday shopping, we’ll post all the ad scans the moment they’re available.

Overall Black Friday ad predictions

Traditionally, the timing of Black Friday ad drops has been pretty consistent every year. It has fluctuated slightly, depending on the date of Black Friday. However, we have seen some variation in ad release dates in recent years, as more retailers start their Black Friday sales earlier.

We expect this trend to continue in 2025 with one exception: Some retailers may announce their deals through press releases (rather than official ads).

We also predict that most major retailers will continue to close their doors on Thanksgiving Day. Shoppers will still be able to shop for online Black Friday deals on Turkey Day, though.

When will Black Friday 2025 ads come out?

Minor retailers used to release Black Friday ads as early as October. In contrast, major retailers waited until November. However, this pattern changed a bit in 2021. This is when we saw retailers like Target and Walmart split up their "Black Friday" sales into multiple shopping events throughout November.

• The ads for what could be considered pre-Black Friday events tend to be released in October now.
• Smaller retailers and a few larger ones also often release their official Black Friday ads in October.
• The official Black Friday ads for bigger retailers, ranging from Kohl’s and Macy’s to Target and Walmart, tend to come out at different points in November.

You’ll see from our Black Friday 2025 ad release date predictions that we expect to see a similar schedule this year.

Mid-October: The first Black Friday ads drop, including Best Buy and Costco

For years, we’ve seen the first official Black Friday ads come out in mid-October. We saw this trend as early as 2016 when the first ad came out on Oct. 12. Even the pandemic couldn’t stop the pattern, as the first ad was released on Oct. 15 in 2020.

With a few exceptions (like Best Buy and Costco), these sale announcements come from smaller retailers. You can think of them as an appetizer to the main course of Black Friday deals.

We predict the first Black Friday 2025 ad will appear in mid-October. The first ads we see will likely come from a combination of smaller retailers and bigger players like Best Buy and Costco.

Late October: First-round ads from Walmart and Target. Plus, ads from Macy's and JCPenney

While they might not be the ads for the main Black Friday sales, the pre-Black Friday (or first-round) ads are exciting for deal hunters.

In late October, stores like Target and Walmart will often announce the first round of Black Friday sales. Don’t be surprised to see something similar in 2025.

**Early November: Ads from Amazon, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and second-round Black Friday ads

The first weeks of November are when we’ll see a huge influx of Black Friday ads, especially from Amazon and department stores. The second-round of ads for stores like Target and Walmart also tend to pop up at this time.

This year, we predict that we’ll see second-round ads and ad releases from retailers like Amazon, JCPenney, Kohl’s and Macy’s appear between Nov. 1 and 15.

Mid to Late November: Final-round Black Friday ads and ads from home improvement stores

As we get closer to Black Friday, we tend to see the “official” Black Friday ads from Target, Walmart and similar stores. Home improvement stores like The Home Depot and Lowe’s also often release their Black Friday ads in late November.

We’re likely to see this Black Friday ad release trend for 2025.

Table: Black Friday ad date predictions for top retailers

The table below shows last year’s Black Friday ad release and sale announcement dates from major retailers. It also included our Black Friday 2025 ad release date predictions. Note that these dates correspond to the full Black Friday ads (not toy books or holiday books).

Don’t miss the rest of our Black Friday 2025 predictions to learn about the best deals and trends for this year.