Black Friday falls on Friday, November 27, 2026. That's 29 days away. On Amazon, the game isn't played during Black Friday week, it's played in what you do between now and then: accounts that show up clean, with stock and budgets ready, capture the peak. The others pay peak CPCs for traffic that doesn't convert. Here's our ad countdown, week by week.
The dates to remember
Black Friday: Friday, November 27, 2026.
Cyber Monday: Monday, November 30, 2026.
Amazon's Black Friday Week: in 2025, it lasted 12 days, from November 20 to December 1. The 2026 dates haven't been announced yet: plan for a start around November 19 or 20.
Week 1 (October 27 to November 2, this week): clean up
At peak, every click costs more. A search term that spends without selling today will spend even more on November 27.
Pull your search term report for the last 60 days.
Negate the terms that got two chances without selling.
Move winning terms to exact match, with their own budget.
Week 2 (November 3 to 9): check stock and listings
Ads accelerate a listing. If the listing or the stock gives out, you're accelerating into a wall.
Calculate your stock coverage through November 30, assuming sales double or triple during peak week.
No budget increase on a product at risk of stocking out.
Check price, coupon or promotion, images and reviews on your 5 priority products.
Week 3 (November 10 to 16): get your formats ready
Brand Store: seasonal page, gift selection, offers at the top.
Sponsored Brands collection: up to 10 products in a single ad, ideal for a product line or a gift guide.
Video: add a video to your Sponsored Products, at no extra budget.
Retargeting: build an audience of visitors to your listings who didn't buy.
Week 4 (November 17 to 23): ramp up
Amazon recommends increasing daily budgets by 20 to 30% around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, starting 3 to 5 days before each peak. Schedule it with budget rules rather than by hand the night before.
Budget rules active on your profitable campaigns.
Bids raised only where November's numbers justify it, not across the board.
Peak week (November 24 to 30): steer, don't panic
Check your campaigns twice a day: a profitable campaign that runs out of budget at 3 p.m. loses the evening.
Don't cut based on a single day's ACOS. Judge the full window, organic sales included.
Track stock every day: if a product drops below 10 days of coverage, scale back its ads.
After Cyber Monday: keep going
December means Christmas. Retarget the Black Friday visitors who didn't buy and keep your gift campaigns running until the last delivery dates.
The checklist, a month out
Wasted terms negated, winners in exact match.
Stock calculated through November 30.
Priority listings checked.
Brand Store, collection and video ready.
Budget rules scheduled (+20 to 30%).
Twice-a-day monitoring during the peak.
Black Friday is won in October. You've got four weeks left.
Want us to go through your account with a fine-tooth comb before the peak? Talk to the Kroogads team.