What Is Black Friday?

How Does Black Friday Work?

Black Friday is part of the holiday shopping season. Having a profitable Black Friday is essential for many retailers, especially toy and game stores. From 2017 to 2021, the holiday season amounted to about 19% of annual sales for many retailers, according to the NRF.

Many retailers open late Thanksgiving Day or early Friday morning. Some shoppers wait in line to get the best deals and shopping continues throughout the weekend.

In 2021, for example, shoppers spent an average of $301.27 from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday (the first Monday after Thanksgiving).

Examples of Black Friday

The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimated 179.8 million unique shoppers made in-store and online purchases during the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend, exceeding NRF’s initial expectations by more than 21 million.

Spending on Black Friday is likely to be high again this year, despite inflation, according to the NRF. They predict all holiday spending will be up 6% to 8% over last year, an early sign that the day after Thanksgiving could have a large economic impact.

The NRF found that the three most popular toys to buy in 2021 were LEGO, Barbie, cars and trucks, and dolls. Consumers indicated the top items they planned to buy for gifts were clothing, gift cards, and toys. The NRF found that shoppers planned to buy three to four gift cards, spending an average of $147 to $196, with total sales expected to reach $28.1 billion in 2021.

Why Is It Called Black Friday?

Black Friday is an informal name used to describe the day after Thanksgiving. It's often the busiest shopping day of the year because it kicks off the holiday season. This day can be crucial for the economy, especially for certain retailers.

The term "Black Friday" has its roots in the middle of the 20th century. Police in Philadelphia initially used the term "Black Friday" to refer to heavy, disruptive traffic on the day after Thanksgiving.

The term spread and businesses latched onto it. It worked well for retail businesses that depended on holiday shopping to put their finances "in the black" (earning profit) rather than "in the red" (operating at a loss).

Historical Black Friday Spending Data

We gathered nearly 20 years of holiday sales data from the NRF and found that the average annual increase in Black Friday spending has been 3.5%. Before the 2008 financial crisis, the average annual increase was 4.8%.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

The Monday following the weekend after Black Friday is known as "Cyber Monday," when many people buy gifts online, and it has become a shopping event in itself. It's typically the biggest online shopping day of the year, and in some years it has surpassed Black Friday in terms of total sales.

In 2020, Cyber Monday sales totaled $10.8 billion, which outpaced the prior year's $9.4 billion. However, in 2021, Cyber Monday sales dropped to $10.7 billion, down 1.4% according to Adobe Analytics.

Although shoppers will never completely abandon brick-and-mortar stores, they expect retailers to offer a convenient online alternative. Many retailers are seeing sales boosts by allowing consumers to buy online and pick up in-store.

Other money-related holidays have sprung up around this time as well. Small Business Saturday is the day after Black Friday and is an effort to focus spending on local mom-and-pop shops. The day following Cyber Monday has been deemed Giving Tuesday and was created to fuel charitable giving during the holiday season.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)