Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019 and the hurricane of deals the shopping holidays bring with them are just around the corner. If you’re looking to get your holiday shopping done Thanksgiving weekend, you should probably have a plan. Going to a major retailer on Friday and simply hoping to pick up a Switch Lite, PS4, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, or whatever other deal has caught your eye is a nice dream, but if you don’t know when deals will go live and when stores open, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
Many retailers have started offering deals already in early access sales. Look for the bulk of Black Friday deals to go live on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day; however, some deals won’t go live until Black Friday itself. Quite a few stores will open Thanksgiving evening, shut their doors later that night, and then re-open on Black Friday proper. However, you’ll definitely be waiting until Friday to do in-store shopping if you live in Rhode Island, Maine, or Massachusetts, where opening on Thanksgiving is illegal. Of course, you can always head online if heading to a store isn’t an option.
Please note that some stores haven’t released the exact time their deals will be live, only the date. We’ve included the information available below and will continue to update this story as more retailers announce their store hours and start times.
Black Friday 2019: Start times and store hours
Best Buy
Most of Best Buy’s deals will be available starting on Thanksgiving, presumably in the morning for online shopping and later on at 5 PM for brick-and-mortar stores. However, pre-Black Friday deals are already live on Best Buy’s site.
- November 28-December 1: All Black Friday deals and doorbusters will be available.
- Online deals start on Thanksgiving (unknown time)
Best Buy store hours
- Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: 5 PM – 1 AM
- Black Friday, Nov. 29: 8 AM – 10 PM
- Saturday, Nov. 30: 9 AM – 10 PM
- Sunday, Dec. 1: 11 AM – 8PM
GameStop
At GameStop, online deals will go live beginning at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET on Wednesday, November 27. For brick-and-mortar GameStop stores, doors will open quite early on Thanksgiving Day, starting at 3 PM this year.
GameStop store hours
- Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: 3 PM – 10 PM
- Black Friday, Nov. 29: 7 AM – 10 PM
- Saturday, Nov. 30: 10 AM – 9 PM
- Sunday, Dec. 1: 11 AM – 7 PM
GameStop’s Black Friday 2019 deals haven’t been announced yet.
Amazon
While Amazon has opened a small (but growing) number of brick-and-mortar stores across the US, the bulk of its Black Friday discounts will be available on Amazon.com. Because Amazon is primarily an online store, it’s not waiting until the end of the month to start offering its Black Friday deals. Instead, Amazon launched its Happy HoliDeals sale on November 1 with discounts across gaming, tech, entertainment, and other categories. And in the leadup to Black Friday 2019, deals will be available on Amazon at all hours, including a wide range of smart devices. Basically, Amazon will have deals going live all the time, so check back often.
- Available Now: Deals will go live every day up until Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and probably the week after Cyber Monday.
Target
On the Wednesday before Black Friday, Target will have some special access deals for RedCard and Circle members. Otherwise, online deals will become available to everyone Thanksgiving morning, with brick-and-mortar stores opening at 5 PM on Thanksgiving Day this year. Select Black Friday deals have also gone live on their website.
- November 27: RedCard Early Access Sale runs all day, with select deals for Circle members available starting at 6 PM (online only)
- November 28-30: Black Friday deals and doorbusters available
- Online deals become available starting Thanksgiving morning through November 30 while supplies last
- December 1-8: Cyber Week deals available (online only)
Target store hours
- Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: 5 PM – 1 AM
- Black Friday, Nov. 29: 7 AM – 11 PM (normal closing time)
- Saturday, Nov. 30: 8 AM – 11 PM (normal hours)
Walmart
Walmart has quite a few early Black Friday deals that are available now, but its official pre-Black Friday deals are already live, with the full lineup of Black Friday deals becoming available on Wednesday, November 27. At Walmart stores, deals will become available to claim at 6 PM on Thanksgiving Day.
- Available Now: Pre-Black Friday sales across multiple departments, including games. begins.
- November 27-29: All Black Friday deals will be available
- Online deals start Wednesday, November 27 at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET
- See Black Friday store hours below
Walmart store hours
- Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: Black Friday deals start at 6 PM local time. Check with your local store, but typically Walmart lets you come early and fill up your cart before Black Friday sales officially start. You just have to wait until 6 PM to checkout.
- Friday, Nov. 29: Check with your local store. Many Walmart stores are open 24 hours/day.
Microsoft Store
Microsoft’s Black Friday deals are live now until December 2 (or while supplies last). In addition to Xbox deals, you’ll find some nice discounts on gaming laptops, monitors, headphones, and more during Black Friday.
- Available Now until December 2: Official Xbox deals available to everyone
Ebay
While Amazon may be a go-to source for many people’s online shopping, Ebay has continued to surprise us with great gaming deals on a regular basis, especially when it comes to discounts on new games or subscription services like PS Plus. It also had some of the best deals around during Prime Day 2019, so be sure to keep your eye on Ebay during Black Friday this year.
Ebay is offering a series of “Black Friday Drops” every Friday leading up the major event. So far, they’ve offered nice discounts on expensive tech like the Apple Watch Series 5 and Bose SoundTouch 10 wireless speaker, and we even saw a great bundle with the Nintendo Switch Lite and Pokemon Sword and Shield. Each Black Friday Drop goes live at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET every Friday now through December 13. The spotlight deal for Black Friday itself, November 29, hasn’t yet been revealed.
Steam
For PC gamers, Steam’s Black Friday sale (or “Autumn Sale”) will be a huge opportunity to snag games on their wishlist at a discount. Unfortunately, Steam doesn’t release information about its sales ahead of time, and that likely won’t change for Black Friday 2019. That said, we have a pretty good idea when Steam’s Black Friday sale will start. According to a leak a few months ago, Steam’s Autumn sale will go live on November 26 and run until December 3. This is a bit later than in previous years, but considering Black Friday is also happening later this year, the November 26 start date is believable. It’s worth noting the leak also accurately predicted the dates for Steam’s Halloween sale last month.
- November 26-December 3: Steam’s Autumn Sale
Newegg
Online store Newegg is another great source for tech and gaming deals year-round, and the website has been gearing up for Black Friday all month long. Newegg has opted to celebrate “Black November” rather than limiting its deals to Thanksgiving weekend, and you can already find great discounts on gaming laptops, desktops, graphics cards, and more.
- Available Now: Black Friday pre-sale kicks off
- November 25-30: Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals available
Costco
If you’re someone who has a Costco membership, there are plenty of Black Friday gaming deals awaiting you this year. However, Costco will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, so there’s no beating the Black Friday rush if you plan to shop in stores. If you prefer to shop online, deals are already available, but some of the best deals will go live on Costco.com the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
- Available now: Early holiday deals available on Costco.com
Costco store hours
- Thanksgiving Day: Closed
- Black Friday, Nov. 29: 9 AM – 8:30 PM (may vary by store)
Kohl’s
Kohl’s isn’t usually a store you think of for tech and gaming deals, but the brick-and-mortar retailer is stepping up its game with some solid deals this year, including a nice Nintendo Switch bundle. Plus, the store is offering $15 of Kohl’s Cash for every $50 you spend from November 25-29, an excellent deal if you shop there regularly. On top of that, select products are eligible for an additional 15% off both in stores and online with promo code THANKS15.
- Live Now: Online Black Friday deals
- Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: Online doorbusters available at midnight CT / 1 AM ET (10 PM PT on Nov. 27) through 1 PM on Black Friday (or while supplies last)
- November 30-December 9: Customers who earned Kohl’s Cash during Black Friday week can redeem it on anything online and in stores
Kohl’s store hours
- Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28: Doors open at 5 PM
