Black Friday is the Friday after US Thanksgiving, when retailers cut prices to open the holiday shopping season, and in 2026 it falls on Friday, 27 November. The name did not start in shops. It started with traffic, crowds and tired police officers, and the story most people hear about it is the wrong one.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) counted a record 202.9 million shoppers over Thanksgiving weekend in 2025, up from 197 million in 2024, including 80.3 million in stores and 85.7 million online on Black Friday itself. This guide explains what Black Friday really is, where the name came from, why prices drop, and where Black Friday ads and Singles Day sales fit in. The figures are US and 2025 unless stated, and the price study we cite is from the UK.
Where Did the Name Black Friday Come From?
History.com writer Sarah Pruitt says the earliest recorded use of the phrase ‘Black Friday’ has nothing to do with shopping: it described the crash of the US gold market on 24 September 1869. The shopping meaning came later, from Philadelphia police officers in the 1950s, who used it for the crowds and chaos that followed Thanksgiving, when tourists arrived ahead of the Army-Navy football game. The article gives 1961 in a photo caption and the 1950s in the body text, so the exact year is not settled.
The tidier story says stores went from ‘in the red’ (losses) to ‘in the black’ (profit) on this day. Pruitt calls it the officially sanctioned but inaccurate story. She adds that as recently as 1985 the term was not in common use across the country, and that retailers adopted the cheerful version in the late 1980s.
| Claim | What the evidence says |
|---|---|
| Stores turn profitable on this day | Popular, but History.com calls it inaccurate |
| Philadelphia police coined the shopping sense | Supported; dated to the 1950s, with 1961 appearing in one caption |
| The phrase first meant a gold market crash | Supported; the 24 September 1869 event is the earliest recorded use |
| It was a nationwide term by the 1960s | Not supported; not in common use nationwide as late as 1985 |
Why Do Retailers Cut Prices on Black Friday?
Retailers do not publish their reasons, so this section is our explanation rather than a sourced finding. Four forces push stores to discount at the same time: shoppers are already planning gift spending, rivals advertise first and force others to match, stores want stock moved before the year ends, and a few headline offers pull shoppers into the shop or site where they buy other things at full price.
That last point matters for you. A deeply cut television can be a door-opener, while the cable, mount and warranty sold beside it keep their normal margin. When you check an offer, look at the total basket, not the one item on the poster.
How Big Is Black Friday Now?
The numbers show why every retailer joins in. NRF’s Thanksgiving weekend survey, run with Prosper Insights & Analytics and published on 2 December 2025, found average holiday spending of 337.86 dollars per shopper, up from 315.56 dollars in 2024. Adobe, which tracks online sales, published its own totals the same day.
| Measure (2025) | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving weekend shoppers | 202.9 million, up from 197 million | NRF |
| Black Friday in-store shoppers | 80.3 million | NRF |
| Black Friday online shoppers | 85.7 million | NRF |
| Average spend per shopper | 337.86 dollars, up from 315.56 dollars | NRF |
| Black Friday online spending | 11.8 billion dollars, up 9.1 percent | Adobe |
| Thanksgiving Day online spending | 6.4 billion dollars, up 5.3 percent | Adobe |
| Cyber Monday online spending | 14.25 billion dollars, up 7.1 percent | Adobe |
Adobe also found that mobile made up 57.5 percent of Cyber Monday sales, or 8.2 billion dollars. These are 2025 results, not forecasts for 2026.
Are Black Friday Prices Really the Lowest of the Year?
Often not. In a Which? investigation published on 23 November 2021, the UK consumer group tracked 201 Black Friday deals from 2020 across Amazon.co.uk, AO, Argos, Currys, John Lewis and Richer Sounds. It found that 99.5 percent were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year, 92 percent were the same or cheaper in the six months before, and only one of the 201 products was at its lowest price on Black Friday itself. Forty percent were cheaper at some other point in the year.
This is UK data from 2020, so US prices and today’s retailers may behave differently. It does not mean every deal is fake. It means a ‘was’ price on a tag tells you very little, and that you should check price history before you pay. Our guide to spotting fake Black Friday deals lists the common tricks, and our price history tracker guide shows how to see a product’s real history.
How Is Black Friday Different From Cyber Monday?
Black Friday began as an in-store day and is now heavily online, while Cyber Monday started online and is still the biggest online day by Adobe’s 2025 numbers. In 2026 Cyber Monday is 30 November. If you want a clear view of which day suits which purchase, read Black Friday vs Cyber Monday before you commit to waiting.
What Should a First-Time Shopper Do Next?
Start with a list, a budget and a deadline. Our step-by-step Black Friday shopping guide for beginners turns this background into a week-by-week routine, and the Black Friday 2026 dates and timeline shows when early sales begin, since several big retailers now start almost two weeks before the Friday.
How Has Black Friday Grown Beyond a Single Day?
Today the name describes a season. Walmart’s 2026 plan spreads three events across 12 November to 2 December, about three weeks. Amazon’s 2025 event lasted 12 days, from 20 November to 1 December, according to PhoneArena. Adobe measured 6.4 billion dollars of online spending on Thanksgiving Day itself in 2025, up 5.3 percent.
The practical effect is that waiting for ‘the day’ can mean missing early stock, while rushing on the first day can mean paying more than you needed to. Plan for a window, set your price limits in advance and use the days in between to compare.
Does Black Friday Matter if You Shop in India?
Black Friday branding is spreading, but many Indian shoppers still plan around festive sales. Our guides to the Amazon Great Indian Festival and the Diwali sale shopping guide explain how those sales work. The habits in this article, checking price history and setting a ceiling, apply in both settings.
