It’s October, Autumn is in full swing and next month, well, next month is the start of the holiday shopping season. Black Friday will take place soon and if you don’t follow the latest retailer’s shopping trends… let’s just say you should (if you want to save money that is). There’s a new retailer holiday marketing strategy floating around called “Black November” and it’s been a strong and rising trend that will likely continue based on last year’s Black Friday sales.
Black November, in retail terms, is when retailers (big and small) extend their Black Friday sales earlier and earlier into the season. Shoppers can expect Black Friday "pre-sales", "previews" and "early access" sales as soon as the second week or so of November. This will also be the peak time for merchants to start distributing their Black Friday ads so keep an eye out for those or you can follow BlackFriday.fm, a leading site for all things Black Friday that includes news and Black Friday ad scans.
Based on previous trends, holiday strategy, sale run dates and offerings, here’s a brief Black Friday forecast from top holiday retailers you can expect this Black Friday 2016. We've also provided some 2015 Black Friday and Cyber Monday resources for those eager to compare past savings and see what offers are worth shopping for this year.
Click on retailer’s logo below for more in-depth predictions and details for this year’s Black Friday sale! Arm yourself with the resources to tackle all those holiday deals this year 
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Walmart Black Friday 2015 Ad
Expected Start Time:
Thanksgiving November 24, 2016 at 6pm.
Online:
Black Friday early access deals expected to launch by 12am on Wednesday November 23, 2016.
Compare Prices:
Walmart Black Friday 2015 Ad Scans
Walmart Cyber Monday 2015 Ad Scans
Based on last year’s Walmart Black Friday, the sale will likely launch around 6pm on Thanksgiving Day again and Walmart is expected to bring back their famed one-hour guarantees. Walmart will introduce price matching again via their Savings Catcher program on the Walmart app. As with last year, in order to spread out the oncoming Black Friday shopping crowd, Walmart will have their doorbuster deals going live at different times throughout Black Friday so keep tabs on their Black Friday ad this year to see when the deal you want will go live.
For those planning to head in-store, try to sift through their Black Friday ad for 2016 and spot the “1-Hour Guarantee” icons on top offers. This is available for in-store shoppers only and it means that sale items marked with the icon will be made available for that full hour. You will also have the option to pay for the item first and carry on with your Black Friday shopping.
Best Buy Black Friday 2015 Ad
Expected Start Time:
Thanksgiving November 24, 2016 at 5pm but the sale will not run overnight and Best Buy is expect to reopen Black Friday November 25 at 8am or earlier.
Online:
A limited amount of early Best Buy Black Friday deals expect to be available as early as November 15 with online Black Friday deals available all day starting Thanksgiving Day 2016.
Compare Prices:
Best Buy Black Friday 2015 Ad Scans
Best Buy Cyber Monday 2015 Ad Scans
Based on the last two Best Buy Black Friday trends, we predict that Best Buy will once again launch a few Black Friday deals ahead of time and as early as the week before Thanksgiving. Best Buy will open for Thanksgiving again but no worries, all deals are expected to be made available online all day on Thanksgiving and Black Friday deals will likely last through Black Friday weekend so no need to skip dinner.
If you’re more in the mood for food than shopping on Thanksgiving (let’s face it...), don’t fret! Best Buy will still have plenty of ongoing and new doorbusters on the morning of Black Friday. As with their sale last year, they will have exclusive doorbuster deals that will be available online only. Shoppers can expect a range of 49” and bigger 4K LED HDTV offered as doorbuster deals this year including other popular tech items like GoPro, MacBook, Apple Watch, bluetooth headphones and more.
Kohl's Black Friday 2015 Ad
Expected Start Time:
Official Black Friday will start Thanksgiving Day at 6pm or earlier.
Online:
Based on last year, early access deals will be available as early as November 21 for online shoppers only (plus, keep an eye out for a coupon code).
Compare Prices:
Kohl’s Black Friday 2015 Ad Scans
Kohl’s Cyber Monday 2015 Ad Scans
Following Best Buy and other department and leading retailers, Kohl’s also launched their online Black Friday deals early on in the week and early bird shoppers were able to bag tons of deals well before Black Friday. Same as last year, expect another rare $15 Kohl’s Cash offer to make it’s way for Black Friday. The Kohl’s Cash offer should run before Black Friday and into Cyber Monday so plan your heavier shopping around that time frame for an extra $15 back in Kohl’s Cash on every $50 spent.
Kohl’s Black Friday preview sale went live as early as November 10 last year with over 1000s items along with their Veterans Day deals. Keep your eyes peeled come Veterans Day this year for early Black Friday deals and as always, stack and save with Kohl’s coupons (yes, yes they will be valid on all holiday sales--with some brand exclusions as usual).
Target Black Friday 2015 Ad
Expected Start Time: official Black Friday is expected to start on Thanksgiving Day November 24, 2016 as early as 6pm.
Online: Target may bring back their preview sale two days ahead of Black Friday with early deals available online and in-stores starting November 23, 2016.
Compare Prices:
Target Black Friday 2015 Ad Scans
Target 10 Days of Deals
Target Cyber Monday 2015 Ad Scans
As a part of their Black Friday sale interval, Target ran a 10 Days of Deal promotion last year that launched the week of Black Friday well into Cyber Monday and early December. New deals were introduced everyday and Target offered tons of mobile discount offers for use in stores and online that includes but are not limited to:
Extra 10% Off Electronics
Extra 40% Off Sleepwear
$50 Off $1000 Holiday Shop Purchases
15% Off at Target.com (exclusively for Cyber Monday)
Shoppers will want to keep an eye out for all their weeklong Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotion because Target is heavy handed with the mobile/coupon code category discount codes. They can be easy to miss if you don’t look at their ad scans!
Some of the hottest deals from Target Black Friday last year include up to $150 free Target gift card with your select Apple iPad Air or mini and Apple Watch purchase. With the new Apple Watch series 2 recently launch, shoppers can expect a price drop and another Target gift card promotion with the watch purchase this year. Look out for doorbuster deals 40-50% off on Christmas trees, small kitchen appliances and apparel.
Most importantly, keep your eyes on those exclusive 1-day only promotions this holiday season!
Toys R Us Black Friday 2015 Ad
Expected Start Time:
Thanksgiving November 24, 2016 at 5pm with some deals extending well into Black Friday weekend.
Online:
Expect sales to start as early as the start of Black Friday week and different doorbusters available at different time slots throughout Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Compare Prices:
Toys R Us Black Friday 2015 Ad Scans
Toys R Us Cyber Monday 2015 Ad Scans
Toys R Us Great Big Book of Awesome 2015
As the leading toys retailer nationwide, Toys R Us unleashed an onslaught of early deals available as early as the weekend before Black Friday week. Their pre-Black Friday sales could again start as early as November 20 with different deals introduced up to Black Friday and into Cyber Monday. Early bird deals will include 50% off a range of top toy brands like Fisher-Price, LeapFrog, Disney, LEGO and more.
Online shoppers don’t forget that the retailer cut their shipping threshold even lower and now, you’ll get free shipping on your minimum purchase of just $19! Later in October, look for their annual Great Big Book of Awesome for an exclusive 15% off coupon on any regularly priced items in-store early November. The annual toy book will also features exclusive toys, gaming deals and other coupon offers for the holiday season.
Macy's Black Friday 2015 Ad
Expected Start Time: Thanksgiving November 24, 2016 at 6pm and deals continue into Black Friday weekend.
Online: Macy’s exclusive Web Buster deals will return and launch on Thanksgiving Day but shoppers can access early Black Friday specials mid November.
Compare Prices:
Macy’s Black Friday 2015 Ad Scan
Macy’s Cyber Monday 2015 Ad Scan
Macy's Thanksgiving 2015 Ad Scan
Macy’s was the first retailer to reveal Black Friday ad and doorbusters last year and we can expect the department retailer to be the first again this year. Look out for their ad scan and big reveal late October this year. We predict Black Friday sale to begin on Thanksgiving Day featuring top returning deals like $7.99 small kitchen appliances, 60% off outerwear, 50% off junior wear, $20 boots sale and much more.
Expect a lower free shipping threshold again for online shoppers this year. Look out for their popular $10 off $25 or $20 off $50 coupons which will be valid at select times and date on Black Friday items (excluding doorbusters).
