For millions of people, Black Friday is the time to do some serious Christmas shopping – even before the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone! Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it's one of the major shopping days of the year in the United States, falling anywhere between Nov. 23 and 29. In 2023, Black Friday falls on Nov. 24. While it's not recognized as an official U.S. holiday, many employees have the day off, except those working in retail.
Hoping to shop Black Friday sales this year? Below, we've listed some our top deal guides to help you find everything you're after.
In which U.S. city did the term Black Friday originate?
The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia. In the early 1960s, Philadelphia police griped about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians heading to the Army-Navy football game and looking for deals post-Thanksgiving, calling it “Black Friday.” According to History.com, Philly's biggest department stores tried to steer away from the negative name and call it “Big Friday,” but the rebranding didn’t stick.
In a non-retail sense, it also describes the financial crisis of 1869: a stock market catastrophe set off by gold spectators who tried and failed to corner the gold market, causing the market to collapse and stocks to plummet.
Why is it called Black Friday?
Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season. As noted above, the term “Black Friday” (in the retail sense) was coined in the 1960s by Philadelphia police dealing with crowds of shoppers, but many look at the name through an accounting lens too. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit.
Why did Black Friday become so popular?
As retailers began to realize they could draw big crowds by discounting prices, Black Friday became the day to shop, even better than those last-minute Christmas sales. Some retailers put their items up for sale on the morning of Thanksgiving, or email online specials to consumers days or weeks before the actual event. The most shopped-for items are electronics and popular toys, as these may be the most drastically discounted. However, the big sales involve prices being slashed on everything from home furnishings to apparel.
Black Friday is a long "day." Traditionally, many retailers would open up the afternoon of Thanksgiving to hordes of people waiting anxiously outside the windows. However, post-pandemic a trend of staying closed on Thanksgiving and opening early on Friday continues to grow.
For those who don't want to line up outside of stores, online Black Friday sales generally kick off at the same time, or even a bit earlier than in-store sales. Online and in stores, shoppers can expect to find numerous doorbusters – prices so low the retailer may not make a profit – to entice shoppers. Most major retailers post their Black Friday ad scans, coupons and offers online beforehand to give consumers time to find out what sales are ahead and plan their purchases. Other companies take a different approach, waiting until the last possible moment to release their Black Friday ads, hoping to create a buzz and keep customers eagerly checking back for an announcement.
2020 changes everything
The preference for online shipping was amplified in 2020 and it became the dominant mode of shopping that season. The coronavirus all but put an end to in-store shopping on Thanksgiving Day (as most retailers opted to remain closed for the first time in a decade). While some offered in-store Black Friday sales, these were far more subdued compared to the frenzied race through the aisles of years past. Some retailers offered concurrent in-store and online deals for an entire month. Others, like Walmart and Target, offered several Black Friday events throughout November, eliminating the need to line up on the big day.
2021 new twists and turns
With the pandemic still ongoing in 2021, but not at the same stage as it was in 2020, retailers, shoppers and experts alike had a hard time predicting exactly how the biggest shopping day of the year would go. While most retailers remained closed on Thanksgiving Day as they did in 2020, there were some unique outcomes of the 2021 Cyber Week, resulting from supply chain issues and inflation. Not only were cart totals higher: up 13.9% from 2020 (a result of larger purchases and higher prices), discounts were weaker: for example, electronics were -12% vs -27% in 2020 and there were more out-of-stock messages than ever before +258% compared to Nov. 2019.(Source: Adobe Analyics)
2022 inflation enters the picture
In 2022, the decision for stores to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day appeared to be a permanent one for many retailers. Target had shared that it would always keep its stores closed on Turkey Day and Walmart's CEO stated that keeping stores open on Thanksgiving is "a thing of the past." While supply chain issues were not as prevalent in 2022, inflation had a large impact on product prices. Online Black Friday spending in the U.S. hit a record high this year ($9.12 billion), due to shoppers making purchases but also prices (even on sale) being higher. Mobile shopping also saw an increase this year, driving the majority of sales at 51% overall (up from 46%). (Source: Adobe Analytics)
Black Friday statistics
Check out these numbers to see just how big of a sales day Black Friday is.
Black Friday shopping and spending
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022 both broke spending records. With shoppers spending $9.12 billion and $11.3 billion, respectively. While sales started early in the season, in October, many shoppers waited around until Cyber Week to ensure they were getting the best discount possible.
- Shoppers were wise to wait for Cyber Week savings in 2022. While price points may have been higher due to inflation in 2022, discounts were also up. Adobe Analytics shared that on Cyber Monday, electronic discounts peaked at 25% off listed price (vs. 8% in 2021).
- Supply chain challenges in 2021 had shoppers filling their carts earlier than usual. Shoppers started seeking deals in October, and many were done with their shopping before December rolled around. In 2021, from Nov. 1 to Nov. 29, consumers spent $109.8 billion online, up 11.9% compared to 2020. (Source: Adobe Analyics
- While consumers spent less on Cyber Monday in 2021 than they did in 2020, this day still holds the crown as the biggest shopping day of the year. Shoppers spent $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday 2021, 1.4% down from $10.8 billion in 2020. (Source: Adobe Analyics
- Black Friday 2021 (Thanksgiving plus Black Friday) raked in $14.04 billion in online sales. That's $8.9 billion spent on Black Friday and $5.14 billion spent on Thanksgiving. That's only a .63% decrease from 2020. (Source: Adobe Analyics
- Black Friday 2020 (Thanksgiving plus Black Friday) raked in $14.13 billion in online sales. That's $9.03 billion spent on Black Friday and $5.1 billion spent on Thanksgiving. That's a 19% increase over 2019. (Source: Adobe Analyics)
- Black Friday 2019 (Thanksgiving plus Black Friday) raked in $11.9 billion in online sales. That's $7.5 billion spent on Black Friday and $4.4 billion spent on Thanksgiving. That's a 20.2% increase over 2018. (Source: Adobe Analytics)
- Black Friday 2018 (Thanksgiving Day plus Black Friday) raked in $9.9 billion in online sales. That's $6.2 billion spent on Black Friday and $3.7 billion spent on Thanksgiving. That's a 19.7% increase over 2017 (Source: Adobe Analytics)
Black Friday online vs. in stores
- In 2022, there was a drop in curbside pickup (from 21% in 2021 to 13% in 2022), as shoppers didn't hesitate to shop directly in stores. Meanwhile, mobile shopping increased in 2022, with 55% of sales coming in via smartphone, compared to 51% the previous year.
- In 2021, Buy Online Pick up In Store was used by 18% of all Cyber Monday online orders (with retailers that offer the service) down from 20% in 2020. (Source: Adobe Analytics
- In 2020, 100 million consumers shopped online (up 8% from 2019). Meanwhile, there was a huge drop in in-person Black Friday shopping – 58.7 million hit the stores on Black Friday (down 37% from 2019). On Thanksgiving Day, the drop in in-person shopping was even more pronounced, due to major retailers being closed -- foot traffic dropped 55% YoY (2020 vs. 2019). (Source: NRF 2020 data))
- In 2019, Buy Online Pick Up In Store saw a 43% increase year-over-year increase during Thanksgiving Weekend (Source: Adobe Analytics).
- In 2018, Buy Online Pick Up In Store saw a 50% year-over-year increase during Thanksgiving weekend (Source: Adobe Analytics).
Top Black Friday products
This year, Black Friday travel deals are expected to be popular as are Black Friday gift card deals.
In 2022, spending on toys set new records. Top toys included Pokémon cards, Legos, Hot Wheels, Disney Encanto, LOL Surprise dolls, CoComelon and Hatchimals. In addition to electronics and computers, spending was up on books, jewelry, appliances and sporting goods in 2022.
