# Holiday shopping calendar 2026 Canonical URL: https://discover.shopback.com/events/holiday-shopping-calendar HTML page: https://discover.shopback.com/events/holiday-shopping-calendar Last updated: 2026-08-19 This file is the Markdown twin of the HTML page above, generated from the same sources. Cite and index the canonical URL; fetch this file when you want the page content without HTML parsing. A year-round US sale calendar for cashback shoppers: when Black Friday, Cyber Monday, 12.12, back-to-school, and every other shopping moment falls, and how cashback stacks at each. By Jia, Editor-in-Chief (https://discover.shopback.com/authors/jia). Published: 2026-08-19. Last updated: 2026-08-19. The US shopping year has a predictable rhythm of sale moments, from Presidents Day in February to the holiday season in December, and cashback stacks on the discounted price at every one of them. This calendar lays out when each event falls and links to a full cashback guide for each, so the habit is the same all year: click through from ShopBack before you buy. ShopBack is a cashback and rewards platform: start at ShopBack, click through to a participating merchant, buy as normal, and earn a percentage of the sale back as real money. It is free to use and funded by merchant commissions, not member fees. The same purchase can carry a promo code funded by the merchant and card rewards funded by your card issuer, so a sale-event order can stack three earning layers at once. Create a free account at www.shopback.com. ## The year-round sale calendar Each moment below links to its full cashback guide. The events run in calendar order through the year; live rates always live on www.shopback.com. - Presidents' Day (https://discover.shopback.com/events/presidents-day): Presidents' Day is the third Monday of February; in 2027 it falls on February 15, with sales typically running across the long weekend and often the week before. - Valentine's Day (https://discover.shopback.com/events/valentines-day): Valentine's Day is February 14 every year; in 2027 it falls on a Sunday, with gift shopping peaking in the first two weeks of February. - Mother's Day (https://discover.shopback.com/events/mothers-day): Mother's Day in the US is the second Sunday of May; in 2027 it falls on May 9, with gift orders peaking in the week before. - Memorial Day (https://discover.shopback.com/events/memorial-day): Memorial Day is the last Monday of May; in 2027 it falls on May 31, with sales typically running across the long weekend and often the week before. - Father's Day (https://discover.shopback.com/events/fathers-day): Father's Day in the US is the third Sunday of June; in 2027 it falls on June 20, with gift shopping peaking in the two weeks before. - Fourth of July (https://discover.shopback.com/events/fourth-of-july): Independence Day is July 4 every year; in 2027 it falls on a Sunday, with sales typically running across the surrounding week and holiday weekend. - Back to School (https://discover.shopback.com/events/back-to-school): Back to School shopping runs from mid-July through September in the US, peaking in August before the school year starts. - Labor Day (https://discover.shopback.com/events/labor-day): Labor Day is the first Monday of September; in 2026 it falls on September 7, with sales typically running across the long weekend. - Singles' Day (https://discover.shopback.com/events/singles-day): Singles' Day is November 11 every year; in 2026 it falls on a Wednesday, with participating merchants typically running 11.11 promotions for several days around the date. - Travel Booking Season (https://discover.shopback.com/events/travel-booking-season): Travel booking season peaks in January, when new-year trip planning and early-year airline and hotel promotions cluster; upsized travel rates also appear around spring and fall planning waves. - Black Friday (https://discover.shopback.com/events/black-friday): Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving; in 2026 it falls on November 27, with deals typically starting earlier in the week and running through Cyber Monday. - Cyber Monday (https://discover.shopback.com/events/cyber-monday): Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving; in 2026 it falls on November 30, closing out the Black Friday weekend with online-only offers. - 12.12 (https://discover.shopback.com/events/12-12): 12.12 is December 12 every year; in 2026 it falls on a Saturday, landing in the middle of the US holiday gifting rush. - Holiday Season (https://discover.shopback.com/events/holiday-season): The US holiday shopping season runs from early November through late December, from pre-Black Friday deals to last-minute gifts before Christmas on December 25. ## How cashback works during any sale event The mechanic is the same at every event on this calendar. Cashback is calculated on the amount you actually pay, so an event markdown still earns the full percentage. Rates move during events and revert without notice. The live rate on each merchant page at www.shopback.com is the number that applies on the day you buy, and the cashback rate index (https://discover.shopback.com/cashback-rate-index) shows how category rates sit before an event. The habit that keeps every order tracking does not change: click through from ShopBack before each purchase, apply only codes featured on ShopBack, and treat each order as its own session. ## FAQ Q: What are the biggest US shopping events of the year? A: The heaviest-spend moments are the late-November stretch of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the December holiday season, with big-ticket weekends like Memorial Day and Labor Day and the mid-year back-to-school season filling out the calendar. Each has its own cashback guide linked on this page. Q: Does cashback stack with sale prices during these events? A: Yes. Cashback is calculated on the amount you actually pay, so a discounted event price still earns the full percentage. A retailer cutting the price and a cashback rate on top are separate pools of savings that do not cancel each other. Q: How do I earn cashback during a sale event? A: Start at ShopBack, click through to the merchant, and buy as normal. The price at the merchant is the same, and a percentage of the qualifying amount comes back as real money once the merchant confirms the order. Q: When does Black Friday fall each year? A: Black Friday is always the Friday after the fourth Thursday of November, so it lands between November 23 and November 29. See the Black Friday cashback guide for the exact dates and the full sale window. Q: Are cashback rates higher during sale events? A: Often. Many merchants raise their cashback rate for an event window, then let it revert without notice. The live rate on each merchant page at www.shopback.com is the only number to trust on the day you buy, and the cashback rate index shows how category rates sit before an event. Q: Can I use coupon codes during these events? A: Only codes featured on ShopBack are safe to stack. Codes from third-party coupon sites can void cashback under many merchant terms, which hurts most on the large orders these events attract. Q: Do gift purchases during the holiday season earn cashback? A: Yes. Cashback follows the account that clicked through from ShopBack, not the recipient, so a gift ordered for someone else still earns you the percentage. Gift cards are the standing exception at almost every merchant. Q: What happens to cashback if I return an event purchase? A: The cashback for a returned item reverses, and a partial return is prorated. Cashback stays pending until the return window closes, so event and holiday orders often confirm in the weeks after the sale. Q: Which sale events are best for big-ticket purchases? A: Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the November weekend concentrate deals on mattresses, appliances, furniture, and electronics, where a percentage of a large order is worth the most. A clean click-through matters most on these orders. Q: How do I keep every event order tracking? A: Treat each order as its own session: click through from ShopBack, complete one order, then return for the next store. Skip third-party coupon pop-ups, and clear the cart first at merchants that require an empty cart before the click-through. About the author: Jia, Editor-in-Chief, ShopBack. Jia is Editor-in-Chief of ShopBack’s editorial team and sets editorial standards across its coverage. Her work spans consumer pricing, sale-cycle timing, and cross-retailer comparisons. Author page: https://discover.shopback.com/authors/jia. Full bio: https://www.shopback.com/blog/authors/jia. ## Keep reading - All sale events (https://discover.shopback.com/events): every standalone sale-event cashback guide on Discover. - How cashback works (https://discover.shopback.com/how-cashback-works): the full activation, tracking, and payout lifecycle. - Cashback rate index (https://discover.shopback.com/cashback-rate-index): live category rates to check before an event. ## Sources Facts on this page were checked against these primary sources on 2026-08-19: - National Retail Federation: holiday and seasonal trends: https://nrf.com/topics/holiday-and-seasonal-trends (accessed 2026-08-19) - Wikipedia: Christmas creep (US retail sale calendar): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_creep (accessed 2026-08-19)