How to Shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday, According to Our Deals Editor
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are without a doubt the best days of the year for sales. I should know — I write about sales all year long. Many retailers offer a 20 percent discount here and there throughout the year, but Black Friday is when they really let loose and increase that discount to 30 or 40 percent in a bid for your attention at the shoppiest time of all. If you approach these sales smartly, you can get all of your holiday shopping done early and below budget — and don’t forget about treating yourself.
Black Friday 2026 takes place on November 27, and runs through Monday, November 30, so you have some time to prepare. Sometimes it pays to shop early, before things sell out. Other times it pays to wait for a slightly better discount to come around. To help you navigate the sales, I’ve racked my deals-obsessed brain to come up with a list of tips, including which categories have the best deals, which you can safely skip, which deals tend to sell out fastest, and more.
Use our product-save tool
Last year, we made it possible to save products on our site and see them in your account. I’d use that tool to start making your shopping list now. That way, when Black Friday rolls around, you can simply go to your account, see what’s on sale, and shop from there. Even better: Sign up for email notifications when something you’ve saved goes on sale. Black Friday sales often start long before the actual day, so the earlier you start saving products, the earlier you can start saving money.
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One of my recently saved products, which I’m hoping will go on sale for Black Friday, is hydrating shower oil. (Crucial for winter!) “Along with its delicate floral scent, I love that the Bioderma has a gentle and fine lather, which washes away cleanly without any oily residue, so there’s no need to double-cleanse,” says writer Brenley Goertzen, who wrote our guide to the best bodywashes.
If nothing else, make your Christmas gift list — and get it checked off
Shipping times are notoriously finicky this time of year, so it’sa good idea to order your gifts as early as possible. I suggest spending the weeks before Black Friday and Cyber Monday making a list of possible gifts for people on your list (and saving them to your account!), so when the sales go live, you can quickly check to see what’s on sale. And again, I’d do this sooner than later, as the deals have already started, and they’re already worth shopping.
If you need gift ideas, we’ve got plenty, and we’ll be finding all the best on-sale gifts now through Cyber Monday, so stay tuned for more. (I’d also recommend signing up for our Deal Freaks Daily newsletter, where we’ll be sharing all of our on-sale gift picks this holiday season.)
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One year, I went into Black Friday shopping with the goal of finding the best deal I could on AirPod Pros. And find them I did, and for a respectable 24 percent off. It was one of only a few things I bought over the weekend.
Shopping early is worth it
Black Friday sales now begin early in November and ramp up through the month. For the most part, the deals that go live before Black Friday are the same as what you get during actual Cyber Week. There’s no way to be totally sure, but my rule of thumb: If the brand is smaller and calling the sale just a Black Friday or Cyber Week sale, it’s probably not going to change between now and Cyber Monday. If it’s a bigger retailer like Amazon and Nordstrom, and it’s calling the sale an early Black Friday sale (or something other than simply Black Friday), the deals probably willchange closer to Black Friday. That doesn’t mean the early deals are bad; it’s just likely that newdeals will be added to the mix.
All to say, in general, if there’s something you really want and it’s already on sale, get it while it’s in stock. If you don’t think the item will sell out, you can wait. There are a few cases where the deal is a bit better — like 25 percent off instead of 20 percent — come actual Black Friday.
If you hold out for anything, make it big-ticket items …
Expensive items will be at their best prices on Black Friday — and shoppers no longer have to camp outside a JCPenney or Walmart in order to buy a washing machine or TV on sale. The deals have simply moved online, where you can find the best discounts of the year on appliances and tech. Best Buy and Target are both good places to start, especially if you’re looking for Apple tech or even a high-end vacuum. Some of these brands still have online doorbusters that only last a short amount of time, but they typically advertise them in advance, so you can plan ahead.
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Our pick for the best noise-canceling headphones overall was on sale for October Prime Day for over $80 off. It should have a similar discount (if not slightly better) for Black Friday.
… Especially tech.
When people ask writer Jordan McMahon what they should wait to buy until Black Friday, his answer is always tech. Specifically, expensive tech like headphones, tablets, and gaming consoles. “You probably won’t find a better deal than the ones offered this week,” he says. Last year, we saw great deals at individual retailers like JBL, Sonos, and Dyson, as well as tons of discounts at such megaretailers as Best Buy, Amazon, and Target.
Tech is a category you should definitelycheck for price matching, though. Apple doesn’t discount its products on its own site, but it sometimes offers gift cards of varying amounts with the purchase of a product. Target, Best Buy, and Amazon, however, offer straight-up discounts on Apple products. The best place to buy depends on what you want — money now or later — but it’s worth comparing and considering before paying.
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“Amazon always has significant discounts on its own products, like Kindles and Echo devices — I always wait until this time of year when I need to upgrade one of my e-readers,” McMahon says.
If you want a new streaming service, now’s the time to subscribe
Sadly, the prices of streaming services just keep going up. Last year, we saw several streaming services offer more than half-off monthly subscription fees. If you’ve been unsure whether another streaming service is worth it, now is a good time to subscribe and try it out cheaply, often for a whole year. (These make a nice gift, too.)
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New! You can now save this product for later.
The fashion deals will be vast
As is usually the case during holiday sales, tons of clothes are significantly discounted. Last year, Madewell offered 40 percent off sitewide, and Alex Mill’s Black Friday sale was a surprise hit with Strategist readers and staffers alike. The sheer volume can be a bit overwhelming, though, which is why our senior fashion writer Ambar Pardilla will be sniffing out what’s actually a good deal. As she’s done in years past, she’ll be rounding up her best finds, organized by retailer, making it easy to compare discounts and find the very best ones.
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One category I look forward to in the fashion sphere each Black Friday is the on-sale cashmere, and I’m sure this time around will be no diffferent.
Cyber Week is toy time
According to senior writer Liza Corsillo, the big three — Amazon, Target, and Walmart — have the most sprawling deals on toys during Black Friday. Last year, she found dozens of options for over 50 percent off at these stores. But don’t limit yourself to just those three: Smaller, independent brands like Fat Brain Toys and Maisonette, for instance, had good (and sometimes even better) discounts, too, with up to 60 or 70 percent off certain toys.
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New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Some beauty products will be at their lowest price ever, so stock up
A lot of beauty brands discount products by up to 20 percent throughout the year, but they almost always bump that discount up to 25 or 30 percent off for Black Friday. “I always use it as an opportunity to stock up on my favorite beauty products, buy gifts for loved ones, and try out new products I’ve been eyeing throughout the year,” says beauty writer Tembe Denton-Hurston. It’s a particularly good time to shop at Sephora: Last year, it offered up to 50 percent off brands like Augustinus Bader, Glossier, and Verb, and there were flash deals that changed daily. Also good to grab? Stocking stuffers like lip gloss, nail polish, and pimple patches.
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New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Mattresses will be a little bit cheaper
Mattresses are always on sale. While a typical discount at any given time is about 15 to 20 percent off, Black Friday seems to be one of the only times mattress brands bump up the savings, usually by an extra 5 percent. (Those deals usually start well before Black Friday, so you don’t have to wait to get a better price.)
Check other retailers, and know their return policies
Retailers like Amazon, Nordstrom, and Target will often price-match the deals going on at other sites. This can make shopping easier because they’ll generally have faster and cheaper shipping and/or a more flexible return window, which is especially great for gift returns.
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New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Deals rarely get better on Cyber Monday
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales vary from brand to brand, but in my experience, most places don’t increase discounts on Cyber Monday. At most, they might throw in a freebie with your purchase or add more items to the sales bin, but usually the discount is the same. So my advice here is the same as what I offered above: If you really want something, buy it early. If you’re willing to gamble on stock, you can wait and see if a discount changes or a freebie is added to the mix.
Don’t skip out on small businesses
Yes, all the big brands will have sales, but so do smaller businesses — and they often don’t wait for Small Business Saturday to go live. Salter House never has sales, but I bought this nightdress while it was a rare 20 percent off on Black Friday a few years ago.
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Cyber Monday doesn’t end on Monday
If this year is anything like the past few, a fair amount of retailers will extend their sales and turn the entire first week of December into a full-on Cyber Week. The discounts won’t change from Cyber Monday, but brands might throw in a free gift with purchase to persuade you to check out.
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The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
