Amazon and Best Buy will both open their main Black Friday sales on Thursday, November 19, more than a week before the holiday itself lands on November 27.
Amazon's "Black Friday Week" starts at 3:01 a.m. ET and runs through Cyber Monday, November 30. Best Buy's main event runs November 19 through November 28 in stores and online, then hands off to Cyber Monday pricing from November 29 to November 30. Best Buy has also been dropping new doorbusters (deeply discounted lead items) every Friday since the day before Halloween.
Walmart is running three events. An early sale covers November 12 to November 15. The main event runs November 23 to November 29, but online only until November 26, so in-store shoppers wait for Black Friday proper. Cyber Monday runs November 30 to December 2, online only. For the first 24 hours of the early and main events, some online deals go to Walmart+ members, who pay $12.95 a month or $98 a year. Trial members do not qualify.
Target is the gap. Its first holiday event started November 5, and its Deal of the Day program runs from November 1 through December 24. The official Black Friday event has not been announced. The expected window of November 22 to November 28 is an estimate based on last year's schedule, not a Target statement.
Store hours are simpler. Best Buy opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m., Walmart opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m., and Target opens at 6 a.m. with closing times that vary. All three are closed on Thanksgiving.
The practical read: the calendar date matters less than the mechanics. Membership early access, online-only windows and daily drops now shape when a deal is worth chasing more than the Friday itself does. Amazon will also stream a Broncos at Steelers game on Prime Video on November 27 at 3 p.m. ET, with a shoppable overlay, which suggests the retailer sees the holiday as a viewing event as much as a sale.