Black Friday Marketing Strategy for BFCM 2026

Black Friday 2026 is November 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday is November 30, 2026. BFCM is the name marketers use for that weekend. In 2025 the median brand put its first Black Friday ad live 8 days before Black Friday. The deepest discount it named was 50% off. The ads themselves are on the Black Friday ad examples page. This page is the plan those dates and discounts support.

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Black Friday 2025, from the ads
Black Friday 2025What the ads show
Brands2,535
Median first ad8 days before Black Friday
Started more than four weeks out7% of brands
Started in the final two weeks45% of brands
Median deepest discount50% off
Most common discount60% off or more (28% of brands that named one)
Called the sale sitewide13% of ads
Median run, once the ad ended15 days

When brands start Black Friday ads

Each brand in Black Friday 2025 is counted once, by its earliest ad. 7% started more than four weeks out. 45% waited until the final two weeks. The dates under the columns are those same windows in 2026, and the marked column is this week.

  • 3%
    More than 6 weeks beforeBefore Oct 16This week
  • 4%
    4 to 6 weeks beforeOct 16 to Oct 29
  • 25%
    2 to 4 weeks beforeOct 30 to Nov 12
  • 19%
    1 to 2 weeks beforeNov 13 to Nov 19
  • 26%
    The final weekNov 20 to Nov 26
  • 14%
    Black Friday to Cyber MondayNov 27 to Nov 30
  • 9%
    After Cyber MondayAfter Nov 30

Six of the ads those numbers are counting

One brand each. The picture is the creative. The line under it is when it started and the discount it named.

45% of brands waited until the final two weeks.

The offer is one number

60% of brands put a percentage in a Black Friday 2025 ad. Among them, the median deepest discount was 50% off. The most common band was 60% off or more (28% of those brands). 13% of the ads called the sale sitewide. Pick one number a headline can hold. A gift, a bundle, or free shipping can sit on top of it. A second, quieter percentage for a list turns the offer into a math problem.

  • Under 20% off5%
  • 20-29% off14%
  • 30-39% off15%
  • 40-49% off12%
  • 50-59% off27%
  • 60% off or more28%
  • Sitewide sale13% of ads
  • Deadline or countdown13% of ads
  • Early access7% of ads
  • Bundles and sets7% of ads
  • Free shipping5% of ads
  • Buy one, get one5% of ads
  • Gift with purchase3% of ads

From this week through Cyber Monday

Black Friday 2026 is one weekend. The work is the six weeks in front of it.

  1. Through Nov 12

    Settle the offer and the page

    Write the offer as one line, put that line on the landing page, and finish the creative you do not want to rewrite on Thanksgiving.

  2. Nov 13 to Nov 26

    Turn the sale ads on

    45% of brands waited until the final two weeks to run their first Black Friday ad. The median brand in 2025 went live 8 days before Black Friday. Turn the sale creative on when the price on the site is the price in the ad.

  3. Nov 27 to Nov 30

    Change the deadline, not the deal

    Black Friday is November 27, 2026. Cyber Monday is November 30, 2026. Keep the same offer across both. What changes is the clock, and who you talk to: people who already visited, before more cold traffic.

  4. December 1

    Take the sale line down

    The median Black Friday ad that has ended ran 15 days. On December 1, the sale line comes out of the ads that are still running. The campaigns you use the rest of the year are the ones still spending. A new campaign stood up on Thanksgiving, then paused on Monday, throws out the learning those earlier weeks built.

Where the ads ran

Same Black Friday 2025 ads, split by the platform that served them. Open one to see the creative, the start date, and the offer.

By category: B2B SaaS, Clothing and fashion, Jewelry, Home decor, Skincare, Toys.

Budgets, and switching the sale off

These ads do not show spend, so this page does not invent a budget split. What they do show is a short run. Take the sale line down after Cyber Monday and leave the campaigns you use the rest of the year in place.

A seasonality adjustment is a conversion-rate setting in Google Ads for a promotion that lasts a few days. It is not a new campaign. Standing one up on Thanksgiving and pausing it on Monday throws out the learning the earlier weeks built. The cap for those four days comes from your margin, set before the weekend.

What was counted

Brands
2,535
As of
September 23, 2026

Lead time is the median brand's earliest Black Friday ad, not the average ad. The discount is the median of each brand's deepest named percentage. Brands that named no percentage are not in that median. 60% named one.

Questions

What is a Black Friday marketing strategy for 2026?
Black Friday 2026 is November 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday is November 30, 2026. BFCM is the name marketers use for that weekend. In 2025 the median brand put its first Black Friday ad live 8 days before Black Friday. The deepest discount it named was 50% off. The ads themselves are on the Black Friday ad examples page. This page is the plan those dates and discounts support.
What does BFCM mean?
BFCM means Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In 2026 that is November 27, 2026 through November 30, 2026. Shoppers search for the deals. Marketers search for the plan, which is this page, and for the ads, which are on the Black Friday ad examples page.
When should I start Black Friday ads?
In 2025 the median brand put its first Black Friday ad live 8 days before Black Friday. 45% of brands started in the final two weeks, and 7% started more than four weeks out. The weeks before that are for the offer, the page, and the creative.
What discount should a Black Friday ad use?
60% of brands put a percentage in a Black Friday 2025 ad. Among them, the median deepest discount was 50% off. The most common band was 60% off or more (28% of those brands). 13% of the ads called the sale sitewide. Pick one number a headline can hold. A gift, a bundle, or free shipping can sit on top of it. A second, quieter percentage for a list turns the offer into a math problem.
Should I pause campaigns after Black Friday?
Take the sale line down after Cyber Monday, November 30, 2026. Leave the campaigns you run the rest of the year in place. A seasonality adjustment in Google Ads is a short conversion-rate setting for the promotion itself, not a reason to rebuild the account.
Where do I see the Black Friday ads?
The Black Friday ad examples page has the 2025 ads, with Facebook, Google, and the industry pages beside it.

Run the weekend inside the account you already have

Sprites puts the sale creative in, holds the spend to the cap you set, and leaves the rest of the account standing on December 1. You approve each change before it goes out.

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