Two days, two jobs
Most stores run Black Friday and Cyber Monday as one sale with two ends. Friday opens it: people browse, compare and leave things in the cart. By Monday the people who waited all weekend have to decide, in an inbox that is fuller than at any other time of year. Sinch alone delivered 20.4 billion emails in Black Friday week 2025, 30% more than a year earlier.
| Black Friday | Cyber Monday | |
|---|---|---|
| Date in 2026 | Fri, Nov 27 | Mon, Nov 30 |
| US online sales, 2025 | $11.8 billion, up 9.1% | $14.25 billion, up 7.1% |
| What readers do | Browse, compare, fill the cart | Decide before the sale ends |
| What your email does | Announces the offer | Reminds them of a deadline they already know |
| What the timer counts to | The end of the sale, days away | Midnight tonight |
The last row is where Monday is different. A Friday timer with three days on it tells people how long they have. A Monday timer with eleven hours on it makes them choose, and it works only if they believe it. For the opening half of the weekend, including the research on why people put off deals they want, see the Black Friday guide.
Five real Cyber Monday timers, and where they sit
On October 27, 2026 we went through all 50 emails in Really Good Emails' Cyber Monday category, a public archive of well-designed marketing emails. Most wrote the deadline in words: "Ends tonight", "Last chance", "Final hours". Five used a live countdown, each in a different place. The purple block marks the timer:
The placements that hold up keep the timer in the same screen as the offer and the button: Buoy at the top, 4Knines right above the button, MacPaw right below it. Huckberry's letter is a good read, but its timer comes after the button, where a reader who is ready to buy has already clicked or left.
The dead clock
Four of the five timers now show zeros in the archive. The screenshots were taken after the sales ended, so they show what anyone who opens the email late sees. Huckberry's still says "Cyber Monday drop 3 ends in" above the zeros, and none of the four changes its message when time runs out.
People open marketing emails hours and days after they arrive. To them a row of zeros looks like a broken image next to an offer that may be gone. Write the end message before you send: what happened, and where to go now.
Anatomy of a Cyber Monday email
Here is a Monday email built around the deadline, with the five details that matter numbered.
25% off everything, until midnight
The last day of our biggest sale of the year.
5Sale ends Monday, November 30, at 11:59 PM ET.
- 1
The subject line names the deadline and the time zone. The timer is invisible until the email is opened, so the inbox needs the deadline in words.
- 2
The timer repeats the time zone and counts to the minute the discount ends in your store, not to a round number you picked for the design.
- 3
The button sits right under the timer, so the reader sees the deadline and the way to act together.
- 4
After midnight the timer shows its end message and the button leads to what is still on sale. Set both before you send.
- 5
The deadline is written once more in the text and in the image's alt text, for Outlook for Windows, which shows only the first frame, and for readers who block images.
Monday, hour by hour
Constant Contact suggests three Cyber Monday emails: a launch, a mid-sale reminder and a last call. Growth Suite keeps the third for a tight segment, such as people who left a cart. Laid out over the day, with the time each timer counts to:
Preview to everyone. The timer counts to the start of the sale at midnight.
Launch to everyone. From here on every timer counts to 11:59 PM.
Reminder to people who opened but did not click, or to everyone if your list is small.
Last call to people who clicked or left a cart. A timer with a final-hours headline switches its wording by itself.
The sale ends. Every timer you sent today switches to its end message, including in emails opened next week.
Only if you extend: a new email with its own real deadline. Restarting Monday's timer teaches readers that your deadlines move.
Cyber Monday questions people ask
When is Cyber Monday 2026?
Monday, November 30, 2026. In 2027 it falls on November 29, and in 2028 on November 27. It is always the Monday after US Thanksgiving.
What is Cyber Monday?
The Monday after US Thanksgiving, when online stores run some of their biggest sales of the year. Adobe counted $14.25 billion in US online sales on Cyber Monday 2025, more than on any other day that year.
When does Cyber Monday end?
At midnight on Monday night for most stores, in the store's own time zone. Some extend into Tuesday or keep Cyber Week offers running until the following weekend.
How long does Cyber Monday last?
One day. Many stores treat it as the last day of a sale that started on Black Friday or earlier.
Is Cyber Monday better than Black Friday?
For total online sales, yes: $14.25 billion against $11.8 billion in the US in 2025. Black Friday grew faster, and many products are discounted on both days, so for shoppers it depends on the product.
Why is it called Cyber Monday?
Shop.org, part of the National Retail Federation, coined the name in a November 2005 press release, after noticing that online sales jumped on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Before midnight on November 30
Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year and, for most stores, the last day of the sale. The people reading your email on Monday already know the offer. Show them how long they have, next to the button, and decide now what they see if they open it on Tuesday.
Sources: Adobe, Cyber Monday hits record $14.25 billion in online spending (December 2025); Sinch Mailjet, BFCM 2025 email statistics; Really Good Emails, Cyber Monday category (50 emails reviewed October 27, 2026); Constant Contact, Cyber Monday marketing; Growth Suite, How many Cyber Monday emails should I send; Wikipedia, Cyber Monday.
By the BrandTimer team. Last updated . BrandTimer makes email countdown timers; this page is ours.