When is Black Friday 2026? Your guide to the best deals and shopping tips

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is an annual shopping event that kicks off the holiday season. Many well-known brands participate, offering steep discounts both online and in stores. It draws major media attention every year and is one of the most anticipated retail events in the US.

It's now one of the busiest days in the retail calendar. While sales used to be limited to the Friday after Thanksgiving, many stores now start deals as early as October and run them through the full month of November.

When is Black Friday 2026?

Black Friday 2026 is in 12 weeks the Friday after Thanksgiving, and marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Given its ever-growing popularity, many retailers start their deals well before the day itself, stretching discounts through the entire month.

The event rolls into Cyber Monday, held the Monday after Black Friday. And while those two days used to mark the end of holiday deals, it's now common for brands to keep prices low all the way through December.

Black Friday sales and deals

If you’re shopping on Black Friday 2026, you’re most likely to find major discounts on big ticket items, such as TVs, laptops, and home appliances. Electronics, toys, and clothing also usually get marked down during the Black Friday sale, as brands target early Christmas shoppers who want to check gifts off their lists or stock up on homeware essentials before hosting in December.

To get a sense of where the best deals will be, look at the best-selling categories from previous years, as those tend to be where retailers go deepest on price. Best Buy, for example, typically highlights predicted sell-out items weeks in advance, from air fryers to gaming consoles.

Many brands will also offer discounts on smaller, cheaper items during Black Friday. Subscription prices and offers may also fall in line with the sale.

On Back Market, we take competitive prices on refurbished tech seriously all year round. There's no need to monitor price trackers or wait for a single sale day. Our prices on refurbished devices often match or beat what you'd find during a Black Friday sale at major retailers.

Where to find the best Black Friday deals 2026?

Black Friday is used by many widely known retailers as a way to promote products and boost revenue for the whole year. Many popular brands, including Best Buy, Amazon, Target and Walmart, offer Black Friday discounts on appliances, tech products, toys, and furniture.

Some notable retailers, such as Apple and Ikea, do not participate, with Ikea offering deals on pre-loved furniture instead for a greener Black Friday. At Back Market, we don’t reduce our prices for Black Friday, simply because we don’t need to. Our affordable and competitive prices on second-hand items are available all year round. This way, our customers don’t have to wait until November to get a bargain, and don’t feel pressure to shop only on sale days.

With Back Market, you can shop when you actually need something and browse without the pressure of a countdown timer. We believe this is a more sustainable way to shop: buying refurbished reduces e-waste and takes pressure off the planet.

Shopping tips and strategies: Is Black Friday worth it?

Retailers love Black Friday because it gives them a major revenue boost heading into the holiday season. For shoppers, it can genuinely be useful if you've had your eye on a specific product for months, or you want to knock out gift shopping at a lower price point.

That said, if you're a more casual shopper or simply need to replace a device that's worn out, the experience can be stressful and the deals less clear-cut than they appear. In those cases, you'll often find a better price, with less hassle, on Back Market.

Protecting your purchases

If you buy something on Black Friday, most retailers will offer the same warranty and returns policy they have in place all year. The same applies whether you shop online or in stores.

At Back Market, every refurbished device comes with a 1-year warranty and a 30-day return policy. You can also get free standard shipping and the option to pay in installments.

Black Friday around the world

According to Forbes, Black Friday originated in the United States as far back as the 1970s, and has since become a global shopping event. It was introduced to the UK in 2010, to Nigeria and South Africa in 2014, and has continued to grow in popularity across West Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It now has local variations in regions as far apart as Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

Retail sales impact of Black Friday

Around Black Friday, retailers closely track market trends and competitor pricing. The National Retail Federation publishes sales figures after each Black Friday, giving brands a useful benchmark. Because the date shifts by up to a week from year to year, the length of the holiday shopping window varies, which can influence how deep retailers go on discounts and how long they keep sales running.

Black Friday vs Cyber Monday?

The main difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is timing and format. Black Friday spans both physical stores and online, while Cyber Monday is online only. Both days offer deals, but the categories and discount depths can differ.

Here's the thing: at Back Market, refurbished tech is priced competitively every day of the year. You don't need to wait for either event to get a great deal.

Last year’s Black Friday sales

If you're unsure whether to shop on Black Friday 2026 but have a few products in mind, sites like The Verge and Wirecutter are useful resources for tracking deals on new tech. For consistently competitive pricing on refurbished devices, you can check Back Market directly and compare against standard retail prices at any point in the year.

Black Friday 2026: How to limit your environmental impact on this day?

Black Friday is a commercial event, and a big one. It's also a day of large-scale consumption, with millions of packages shipped across the country, contributing to emissions and waste.

The most effective way to reduce your impact is straightforward: buy only what you genuinely need. If you do need a new device, choosing refurbished is one of the highest-impact decisions you can make. Buying a refurbished smartphone instead of a new one avoids 92% of the greenhouse gas emissions tied to manufacturing, and saves around 77 kg of CO2e per device. It also avoids 89% of the e-waste that would otherwise be generated. Since 2014, Back Market has helped avoid 2.2 million tons of CO2e emissions and 8,500 tons of e-waste, by giving devices a second life instead of a landfill.

Buying refurbished isn't a compromise. It's a smarter choice for your wallet and for the planet.

The bottom line on Black Friday

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping events of the year. If you plan to shop, go in with a list, do your research beforehand, and focus on items you actually need rather than deals that just look good in the moment.

At Back Market, we think the best deal is one you can make any day of the year: refurbished tech that performs like new, priced well below retail, and backed by a 1-year warranty. Your wallet and the planet will both thank you.