In recent years, we’ve seen Black Friday sales transition from a single day after Thanksgiving to multiweek Black Friday sale extravaganzas that require calendars to plan. And the first stage of all that hype? Black Friday ad drops. Black Friday ad scans are how retailers preview their deals, and they provide valuable intel to shoppers about where to shop and when the sales kick off.
They're also unpredictable, but there are patterns. Below, find our predictions for the 2025 Black Friday ad drops, based on our years of experience. In general, we're predicting a similar drop schedule to last year, but our predictions account for Thanksgiving being a day earlier (Nov. 27) in 2025.
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When will Black Friday ads come out?
It varies by store, and most stores don’t stick to the same schedule each year. We see some ads drop in late October, while Black Friday purists — we’re looking at you, Home Depot — still wait until nearly Thanksgiving to unveil the good stuff. Meanwhile, some major retailers have ditched traditional ad scans entirely and opted for press releases. Note: Plenty of retailers these days run multi-round Black Friday sales and release multiple ads (one for early deals and then another for the official Black Friday deals).
Below you’ll find our predictions for when we think Black Friday ads will drop in 2025. While there's no guarantee, we've been staying up late to watch for the ad drops for years and have a good idea of on which dates to expect which ads. And, yes, if you want to see these ads the second they drop, you'll have to stay up. Most Black Friday ads drop at midnight PT, CT, or ET.
Costco: Predicted Oct. 17
Drop Time: Midnight ET, but don't feel like you need to stay up; Costco reveals its Black Friday deals in its regular Holiday Savings Book, which contains its deals for the whole month.
How We Made Our Prediction: Costco's an early one, and we got the ad on Oct. 18 in 2024 (the second Friday of the month). The Costco Black Friday ad is really just its Holiday Savings Book, which showed all its deals spanning Nov. 1 - Dec. 2 in 2024. It revealed the entire month of deals ahead, including Costco's Thanksgiving online deals, their Black Friday sale, and their Cyber Monday sale.
Macy's: Predicted Nov. 13
Drop Time: Macy's Black Friday ad is usually a late-night dropper — we've seen it as late as 3 a.m. ET.
How We Made Our Prediction: The Macy’s Black Friday ad dropped on Nov. 14 in 2024 (the second Thursday of the month), along with some early deals. The last page got you a special coupon that gave you an extra 10% - 20% off during the Macy's Black Friday sale.
Walmart: Predicted Oct. 27 and Nov. 17 (Press Release Only)
Drop time: 12:01 a.m. ET
How We Made Our Prediction: Walmart Black Friday has been a multi-week event for the past few years. For the last couple years, it's done away with the traditional ad scan and gone the press release route to announce the dates of its Black Friday sale events and preview deals. We got the first announcement on Oct. 28 in 2024, with a limited list of deals, and another on Nov. 18.
JCPenney: Predicted Nov. 1
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. ET
How We Made Our Prediction: For the past few years, JCPenney has dropped its Black Friday ad on Nov. 1, and the exact same thing happened in 2024 when JCP sent us their 20-page print ad scan. We think it will stick to that timing for another year.
The thing you want to look for in the JCPenney Black Friday ad scan are the in-store-only deals. JCPenney usually offers mystery coupons and giveaways at certain times in stores on Black Friday, and the ad will tell you those times. In 2024, for example, you could get a snow globe and a coupon worth up to $500 at 5 a.m. in stores.
Amazon: Predicted Nov. 12 (Press Release Only)
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. PT
How We Made Our Prediction: Amazon doesn't do a traditional ad scan, but instead drops a press release with details on deals to expect and the dates of the Amazon Black Friday sale. On Nov. 13, 2024, Amazon dropped a press release announcing its sale dates (Nov. 21 - 29) and deals to expect, including up to 55% off tech, 50% off toys, and more. We think it'll stick to that timing this year and drop a press release the second Wednesday of November.
Best Buy: Predicted Oct. 20 (Press Release Only)
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. CT
How We Made Our Prediction: Best Buy put out an early press release on Oct. 21, 2024, that teased some early deals and confirmed Best Buy's Black Friday sale dates of Nov. 21 - 30. However, just like in recent years, Best Buy didn't put out an ad. Instead, Best Buy Black Friday deals were set live on Nov. 21. We predict the same rollout this year.
Kohl's: Predicted Nov. 4
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. CT
How We Made Our Prediction: Kohl’s releases their Black Friday ad relatively early, as they tend to have deals spread throughout the month. In 2024, we saw the Kohl’s Black Friday ad for both its Early Access event and its official Black Friday sale drop on Nov. 5.
The reason you want to check the ad is to confirm the coupon code that gets you an extra discount (15% off in past years) during the sale. Also, Kohl's uses its ad to confirm its bonus Kohl's Cash offer — usually $15 on every $50 spent.
Target: Predicted Nov. 20
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. PT
How We Made Our Prediction: Target always releases its official Black Friday ad just a week before the big day. That's because Target follows a predictable schedule with all its weekly ads, previewing the upcoming weeks a couple days before deals start on Saturday. So we got a Nov. 21 (at midnight Pacific time) Target ad drop in 2024 showing the deals for Nov. 24 - 30 (aka Black Friday week).
One thing to note about the Target Black Friday ad: It contains both the deals that run the whole week of Black Friday, and the deals that run on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday only.
Lowe's: Predicted Nov. 26
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. ET
How We Made Our Prediction: The Lowe’s Black Friday ad isn’t as predictable from year to year, but it tends to drop late. We finally saw it on Nov. 27 in 2024 and on Nov. 20 in 2023. The Lowe's ad is usually when Lowe's announces its in-store deals on poinsettias and fresh wreaths.
Home Depot: Predicted Nov. 3 and Nov. 23
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. ET
How We Made Our Prediction: Home Depot regularly drops an ad in early November (which shows deals that run all month) and then its official Black Friday ad (which shows deals that run through Thanksgiving weekend) a few days before Thanksgiving. That final ad is the one that'll reveal the popular in-store poinsettia deal.
Sam's Club: Predicted Nov. 25 (Online Announcement Only, No Ad)
Drop Time: 12:01 a.m. ET
How We Made Our Prediction: The Sam's Club November Instant Savings Book (which arrives in October) usually reveals the dates of the Sam's Club Black Friday sale, but it doesn't reveal the deals. To see those, you'll need to wait until a last-minute announcement from Sam's Club, which usually comes a couple days before Thanksgiving. We got it on Nov. 26 last year (two days before Thanksgiving) and shared it with all of you.
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