French Days 2026: succeeding in your advertising campaign

Published : 10/30/2026 16:46:15 Updated : 09/30/2026 03:58:03 The Media Buying Academy : Basics to get started

Marketing Team

Pôle Marketing

Article summary : French Days from the advertiser's perspective

💡 What the French Days are

E-commerce promotional operation created in 2018 by six French brands, designed as the tricolor response to Black Friday.
Two editions per year: one in spring, one at back-to-school. The 2026 autumn edition is scheduled around September 22 to 28.
Unlike sales, dates and discounts are free, without a regulatory framework.

📊 Why it matters for an advertiser ?

Online sales increase by around 15% during the operation compared to a classic week.
Fashion climbs up to +27%, home around +13% depending on the edition.
The back-to-school edition precedes Black Friday by two months: a first peak before the big end-of-year wave.

🎯 How to prepare ?

Anticipate: the best slots and budgets are set several weeks before.
Combine retail media, social, search and drive-to-store DOOH.
Stand out without slashing prices: the credibility of the offer takes precedence over the discount.

Each autumn, late September, hundreds of French e-commerce sites launch a week of coordinated promotions: the French Days. For consumers, it is a hunt for good deals. For advertisers, it is a peak in traffic and sales to be seriously prepared.

This article is not addressed to buyers, but to brands. How to take advantage of this key moment, which media to activate, and how to avoid the mistakes that ruin the operation. Because during the French Days, everyone communicates at the same time, and standing out requires method.

We are going to set the 2026 dates, the interest of the operation, the media preparation and the pitfalls to avoid.

Article summary

French Days: origin and principle
The dates of the 2026 French Days
Why it is an appointment not to be missed ?
How to prepare your campaign ?
Which media to activate ?
Mistakes to avoid

French Days: origin and principle

The French Days were created in 2018 by six big names in French e-commerce: Boulanger, Cdiscount, Fnac Darty, La Redoute, Rue du Commerce and Showroomprivé. The idea was simple: to offer a French equivalent to the American Black Friday, a major promotional event "made in France".

Since then, the operation has grown in scale. Today, there are between 200 and 300 participating merchants, in almost all sectors: high-tech, fashion, home, beauty, sports, travel, food. Participation climbs year after year.

Point to remember

It changes the game for advertisers: unlike the sales, the French Days are not regulated. Brands freely set the dates and discounts, and selling at a loss remains prohibited. It is a marketing event, not a legal framework.

The dates of the 2026 French Days

The 2026 edition is scheduled around September 22 to 28, representing a full week of promotions.

These dates are provisional and confirmed by participating brands as the event approaches, as is the case every year.

This timing is not accidental. The autumn edition arrives about two months before Black Friday, set for November 27, 2026. It therefore offers a first commercial peak for the end of the year, an opportunity to capture sales before the big wave and to test one's setups with lower risk.

Why it is an appointment not to be missed ?

🟦 The figures speak for themselves. During the French Days, online sales increase by around 15% compared to a classic week. Certain sectors do much better: fashion climbs up to +27%, home around +13%. Overall, the operation accounts for about 2.3% of the annual turnover of French e-commerce.

⬜️ Beyond volume, there is the consumer mindset. During this week, they are in buying mode, they compare, they actively look for offers. A receptive audience is something you cannot turn down. The average basket is around €57, with peaks depending on the categories.

🟥 The counterpart is competition. Everyone pushes their offers at the same time, advertising costs rise, and attention disperses. Hence the importance of preparing your campaign instead of undergoing it.

How to prepare your campaign ?

The golden rule can be summed up in one word: anticipation. A French Days campaign improvised a few days before is lost in advance.

Start several weeks in advance
Define your flagship offers, prepare your visuals, frame your budgets by channel
Warm up your audience before the event, for example with an awareness campaign or an email collection "be notified of the launch"

On D-Day, you do not start from scratch: you activate an already warm audience.

Also think about your site. A traffic peak multiplied by two or three tests the speed and the purchasing funnel. Nothing is worse than paying to bring traffic to a page that lags. Technical performance is part of the campaign.

Which media to activate ?

A good French Days setup plays on several complementary levers.

✅ Search captures the intention of those already looking for "French Days" and your product category.

✅ Social media and programmatic display ensure coverage, reminder and retargeting of visitors who showed interest before the event.

✅ Emailing, on your first-party database, remains one of the most profitable channels to notify your clients at the right time.

✅ OOH / DOOH in shops and parking lots works on drive-to-store, attracting to your stores the clients scouring commercial areas during the operation.

>>> Click on each setup to be redirected to our available offers in social media, programmatic and billboards.

🚀 The combination of online and physical broadens your coverage.

The common thread remains consistency. The same message, adapted to each channel according to its role, in a cross-channel logic, performs better than a series of isolated campaigns.

Mistakes to avoid

A few pitfalls return each year :

❌ Waiting until the last moment

Advertising budgets skyrocket during the week of the French Days. Booking and preparing in advance is less expensive and allows time to do things well.

❌ Slashing prices without credibility

A displayed discount that is barely real will backfire. Consumers compare, and a fake promotion damages trust. An honest and clear offer is better than a spectacular but suspicious discount.

❌ Neglecting mobile

A large part of French Days traffic comes from smartphones. A poorly optimized purchasing funnel on mobile drives away the buyers you paid to attract.

❌ Forgetting the aftermath

Customers won during the French Days are a base to retain, not single-use buyers. Plan post-operation re-engagement and animation to make your acquisition profitable.

Summary table

🇫🇷 Element	📌 Key points
📅 2026 Dates (back-to-school)	Around September 22 to 28 (provisional)
📈 Effect on sales	Around +15 % vs classic week
📣 Key media	Search, social, display, emailing, DOOH
❌ Error n°1	Improvising at the last moment

Launch your French Days campaign at the right time

The French Days reward brands that anticipate and orchestrate their media. The right setup is prepared weeks in advance, both online and physically.

With Adintime, you book display, social, billboards and DOOH on a single platform, without intermediaries, to build a consistent French Days campaign that is ready on time.

>>> Launch your campaign for the 2026 French Days with Adintime

FAQ: everything to know about the French Days for advertisers

What are the dates of the 2026 French Days?

The 2026 back-to-school edition is scheduled around September 22 to 28, over one week. These dates are provisional and confirmed by participating brands as the event approaches. A spring edition takes place in late April and early May.

Are the French Days like the sales?

No. Sales are regulated, with dates set by decree and the authorization to sell at a loss. The French Days are a free marketing operation: brands choose their dates and discounts, but cannot sell at a loss.

What media budget should be planned for the French Days?

It depends on your sector and your objectives, but anticipate an increase in advertising costs during the operation. Booking and preparing in advance helps limit this inflation and ensures presence when competition intensifies.

Which media to prioritize during the French Days?

Search for intention, social and display for coverage and retargeting, emailing on your customer database, and DOOH in retail for drive-to-store if you have points of sale. Consistency between channels makes the difference.

Why is the back-to-school edition strategic?

Because it arrives about two months before Black Friday. It offers a first end-of-year sales peak and allows for testing setups before the big promotional wave in November.