You’ve seen the videos. The chaotic footage of people sprinting through sliding glass doors at 4:00 AM, desperate for a half-price television, is basically a Thanksgiving tradition at this point. But honestly? The landscape has shifted so much lately that showing up at dawn might just be a waste of your sleep. If you are looking for hours for stores on Black Friday, you have probably noticed that the "midnight madness" era is mostly dead. Retailers like Target, Walmart, and Costco have fundamentally rewritten the rules since 2020.
Gone are the days when every single mall in America stayed open for 24 hours straight. Now, it’s a weird, fragmented mess of staggered openings and "online-first" doorbusters. It’s confusing.
The Death of the Midnight Opening
Retailers finally blinked. For years, there was this intense arms race to see who could open earlier. It started at 6:00 AM, then moved to 4:00 AM, then midnight, and eventually, stores were opening on Thanksgiving evening itself. Employees hated it. Customers, surprisingly, started to sour on it too.
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Then the pandemic hit.
Major players like Walmart and Target used that disruption as an excuse to pull back. They realized they could make just as much money—if not more—by pushing people toward their apps while keeping their physical doors locked until a reasonable hour on Friday morning. In 2024 and 2025, we saw this trend solidify. Most big-box retailers now stay closed on Thanksgiving Day entirely and open their doors between 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM on Friday.
Take Best Buy, for example. They’ve settled into a rhythm where 6:00 AM is the standard. If you show up at 3:00 AM, you’re just standing in the cold for no reason because the "limited quantity" items are often already claimed via "store pickup" orders placed online three days earlier.
Small Businesses vs. The Giants
It’s a different story for your local boutique. While the giants are battling for the early bird crowd, local shops often stick to regular business hours. Or, they wait for "Small Business Saturday" to do their heavy lifting.
If you're hunting for specific hours for stores on Black Friday in your local downtown area, don't expect a 5:00 AM start. Most independent retailers won't open until 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM. They can't afford the overhead of paying staff holiday overtime for a handful of early shoppers. It’s a math problem they usually lose.
Mapping Out the Major Players
Let’s look at the heavy hitters. You can’t just wing it anymore because schedules vary by ZIP code, but there are some general rules of thumb that usually hold true across the board.
Walmart generally kicks things off at 6:00 AM. They stopped the 24-hour cycle a while ago, and they aren't looking back. Their strategy now involves "deals for days," which basically means the "Black Friday" price has been live on their website since the Monday before.
Target is similar. They typically open at 6:00 AM as well. The interesting thing about Target is their price match guarantee. Even if you miss the doorbuster, if the price drops further later in the weekend, you can often get the difference back, provided you kept the receipt.
Macy’s and Kohl’s are the outliers that still love an early start. You’ll often see them opening at 5:00 AM. They rely heavily on foot traffic for clothing and home goods, which are harder to "spec out" online than a PlayStation or a blender.
Costco is the most predictable of the bunch. They rarely do the early morning chaos. Expect them to open at their standard 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM time, depending on the location. They know their members will show up regardless of whether there's a "doorbuster" at sunrise.
Apple Stores are a wild card. If the store is inside a mall, it follows mall hours. If it’s a standalone flagship, it might not open until 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM. Also, Apple doesn't really do "sales." They do gift cards with purchases. Don't freeze your toes off for a discount that doesn't exist.
Why Mall Hours Are the Biggest Trap
Malls are tricky. Just because the mall doors open at 6:00 AM doesn't mean the store you want is actually open.
I’ve seen people get stuck in the atrium of a Westfield or a Simon mall at 5:30 AM, only to realize the specific Zara or H&M they wanted doesn't open until 8:00 AM. Most malls have "core hours," but individual leases allow retailers to set their own schedules.
Always check the mall’s official website the night before. Usually, they post a PDF or a special landing page with a giant grid of every single store's specific opening and closing times. If you don't do this, you'll end up wandering around a food court drinking mediocre coffee while waiting for a shutter to lift.
The Online Factor: When Physical Hours Don't Matter
We have to talk about the "Digital Black Friday."
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The reality is that hours for stores on Black Friday are becoming less relevant every year because the best inventory is often gone before the physical doors even unlock. Amazon starts their "Black Friday" deals about ten days early now.
If you’re looking for a specific high-end laptop or a Dyson vacuum, checking the store hours is step two. Step one is checking the "In-Store Availability" toggle on the retailer's app at 12:01 AM on Thursday night.
Retailers have gotten very good at inventory management. They’ll allocate a certain number of units for "shipping" and a certain number for "floor stock." If the floor stock is spoken for by online "buy online, pick up in store" (BOPIS) customers, you can be first in line at 5:00 AM and still leave empty-handed. It’s brutal, but that’s the current system.
Surviving the Crowds Without Losing Your Mind
If you are determined to go, you need a plan.
First, wear layers. It sounds like something your mom would say, but standing in a drafty vestibule or an outdoor line is miserable.
Second, eat something. Most mall food courts don't fully open until mid-morning. If you're there at 6:00 AM, your only option might be a vending machine or a very overworked Starbucks with a 40-minute wait.
Third, use the "Map" feature in store apps. Target and Walmart have maps that show you exactly which aisle the "Special Event" items are located in. Usually, these aren't in their normal spots. The TVs might be in the garden center. The air fryers might be in the luggage section. If you don't know the map, you'll be wandering aimlessly while others grab the goods.
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Actionable Strategy for Black Friday Success
Stop treats Black Friday like a sprint. It's a logistical operation. Here is exactly how to handle it:
- Verify on Thursday Afternoon: Don't rely on a blog post from three weeks ago. Open Google Maps and search for the specific store. Retailers are required to update their "Holiday Hours" on their Google Business Profile. If it says "Hours might differ," call the store.
- The 12:01 AM Check: On Friday morning (just after midnight), log into your top three shopping apps. Check if the "Black Friday Price" is already active. If it is, buy it then for "In-Store Pickup." You can sleep in and stroll into the store at 2:00 PM to grab your bag from the service desk.
- Prioritize Standalone Stores: If you have the choice between a Best Buy in a massive mall and a standalone Best Buy in a strip center, go to the standalone one. Parking is easier, and the foot traffic is generally lower.
- Download the Mall App: If you're hitting a major shopping center, the "Simon" or "Brookfield" apps often have real-time parking updates. This can save you thirty minutes of circling a concrete garage.
- Check the "Closing" Time Too: Everyone focuses on the opening, but Black Friday often ends early. Many stores that usually stay open until 10:00 PM might close at 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM on Friday to give their staff a break before the Saturday rush.
The "Golden Era" of 2:00 AM campouts is mostly a memory. Today, the most successful shoppers are the ones who spend more time on their phones on Thursday night than they do in their cars on Friday morning. Focus on the data, check those specific hours for stores on Black Friday via official apps, and don't be afraid to skip the early morning rush if the deal you want is already sitting in your digital cart.