Image: Public Work, via Cosmos
Black Friday 2026 falls on Friday 27 November, with Cyber Monday on 30 November. As this goes up, that is about seven weeks away. For brands planning a sale push with creators or models, the question now is less "should we?" and more "is there still time?"
This post sets out what is known: the dates, what last year's sales showed about creator-driven shopping, how much notice creators say they want, and the advertising rules any paid post has to follow. Each figure comes from a named source, listed at the foot of the page, so you can check it yourself.
Black Friday is the day after US Thanksgiving. In 2026 the dates fall like this:
Thursday 26 November. US Thanksgiving.
Friday 27 November. Black Friday.
Saturday 28 November. Small Business Saturday.
Monday 30 November. Cyber Monday.
Klaviyo describes the stretch from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday as Cyber Week, and notes that some brands start their discounts earlier in that week. For a creator or model shoot, the date that matters is the first day your offer goes live, not Black Friday itself. Content has to be shot, edited, approved and scheduled before then.
Adobe tracks online spending on US retail websites, and its figures for 2025 show how much of the sale now runs through social media and creators:
Black Friday 2025. A record $11.8 billion spent online in the US, up 9.1% on the year before.
Cyber Monday 2025. $14.25 billion, up 7.1%, and $44.2 billion across Cyber Week.
Affiliates and partners. This channel, which includes social media influencers, drove 21.8% of Cyber Monday online revenue, up from 20.3% in 2024.
Social media. Its direct share of Cyber Monday revenue was 3.6%, up 56.5% on the year.
Adobe's summary is that consumers are increasingly turning to social media to discover and learn about new products.
Later, a creator marketing platform, looked at retailer sale events in October 2025 and found that creator-driven sales value rose 99% per day, per retailer, during sale periods compared with normal weeks. Average order value rose from $65 to $77.
Whether you want a creator posting to their own audience or a model fronting your own ads and product pages, a booking follows the same broad steps.
Write the brief. Say what you are selling, the offer, the platforms, the number of posts or shots, and the dates the content must be ready and go live.
Agree usage up front. Say where the content will run, for how long, and whether you want to put paid spend behind it. Later advises settling posting dates and usage before the campaign rather than after it.
Shortlist and check availability. An agency can tell you quickly who is free on your shoot and posting dates. For models, a casting may help you choose; see how castings work.
Confirm and contract. Lock the fee, deliverables, approval rounds and posting schedule in writing.
Shoot, approve and schedule. Leave time for at least one round of changes before the first post date.
If you want content for your own channels rather than a creator's feed, user-generated content is a lighter option. Our creator and talent campaigns and model campaigns pages explain how we run each, and our past campaigns show the range.
There is no official cut-off, but there is evidence on what creators want. In Later's survey of 403 creators and 222 brands, 41% of creators said they prefer one to two months' lead time, and 30% named late outreach as their biggest challenge. Later's advice in November 2025 was to lock partnerships straight away, because top creators were already booking for Black Friday.
Count back from the dates. One month before Black Friday is 27 October 2026. Two months before was late September. So, writing in early October:
Now to late October. You are still inside the window most creators prefer. Brief this month.
November. Booking is still possible, but you are asking for less notice than many creators want, and choice will be narrower. Keep the brief tight and the approvals fast.
Cyber Week itself. Plan short, simple content with talent who are already free, or move your effort to the December gifting push.
Later also found that longer sale periods give creators room to post several times rather than once, so a booking that covers the whole of Cyber Week can do more work than a single post on the day.
A paid post is an ad, and the rules apply in the sale rush as at any other time.
UK. The ASA expects a prominent "ad" label upfront. It treats labels such as "sponsored", "gifted" or "in association with" as unclear. Both brands and influencers are responsible for making ads obviously identifiable, and both are named if a ruling goes against them.
US. The FTC tells influencers to disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand, including free or discounted products. The disclosure must be hard to miss: in the video itself, not only the caption, and repeated during live streams.
Build the label into the brief and the approval round, so nobody is fixing it after a post has gone live.
Before the sale
Preview content that builds interest. Later suggests fashion brands focus on awareness first.
During the sale
Content that sells the offer. Later suggests saving it for the week before Black Friday and Cyber Week.
After the sale
Follow-up posts once the deals end. Later advises briefing creators on all three phases from the start.
FAQ
Friday 27 November 2026. Cyber Monday is Monday 30 November 2026.
In Later's survey, 41% of creators said they prefer one to two months' lead time. For Black Friday 2026, that means briefing by late October at the latest.
Yes, if they are paid. In the UK the ASA expects a prominent "ad" label upfront, and holds both brand and influencer responsible. In the US the FTC asks for a clear, hard-to-miss disclosure such as "ad" or "sponsored".
Often, yes, but with less choice and less notice than many creators prefer. A tight brief and quick approvals help. If you are planning now, get in touch and we can check availability.
Send your brief and we’ll come back to you.
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