Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States and one of the biggest shopping events of the year. Traditionally, it marked a single day of heavy in-store promotions. Today, however, Black Friday is better understood as both a calendar date and a retail sales period: many promotions begin before Friday, continue through the weekend, and overlap with Cyber Monday.
That distinction explains much of the confusion around Black Friday today. The date itself is fixed by Thanksgiving. The length, discounts, eligible products, and rules of a “Black Friday sale” are not.
What Does Black Friday Mean?
In modern retail, Black Friday refers to the major shopping event immediately following Thanksgiving, when retailers promote discounts and special offers across categories ranging from electronics and clothing to appliances, furniture, and home goods.
But there are really two meanings worth separating.
Black Friday the day is the Friday after Thanksgiving.
A Black Friday sale is a promotion created by an individual retailer. It may begin before the official Friday and may continue for several days or even weeks.
That difference has become increasingly important as holiday shopping has moved online and retailers have spread promotions across a longer period. The National Retail Federation treats Black Friday and Cyber Monday as part of a five-day shopping period running from Thanksgiving through the following Monday, while also noting that consumers increasingly spread holiday shopping across the broader season.
So when a retailer advertises “Black Friday starts early,” it does not mean the date of Black Friday has changed. It means the retailer has chosen to begin its Black Friday-themed promotion before the official day.
Why Is It Called Black Friday?
The shopping-related name did not originally come from retailers making a profit.
The history most closely associated with the modern shopping term comes from Philadelphia in the 1950s and early 1960s. Police used “Black Friday” to describe the difficult conditions on the day after Thanksgiving, when large numbers of shoppers and visitors entered the city ahead of the annual Army-Navy football game. The result was heavy traffic, crowded streets, long shifts for police officers, and busy stores.
By the early 1960s, the term had become established enough in Philadelphia that local merchants reportedly tried to replace it with the more positive-sounding “Big Friday.” That effort did not stick. The Black Friday name eventually spread more widely across the United States. HISTORY documents this development in its overview of Black Friday’s origins.
What About “Going From Red to Black”?
You may also have heard that Black Friday got its name because retailers spent most of the year operating “in the red” and finally became profitable—or “in the black”—after Thanksgiving.
That explanation became popular later, particularly as retailers tried to give the term a more positive meaning.
It is a useful way to understand the accounting language, but it is not considered the original source of the shopping term. HISTORY notes that retailers helped popularize the red-to-black story after the Philadelphia usage had already existed for years.
There is another source of confusion: the phrase “Black Friday” was also used for a U.S. financial crisis in 1869 involving a failed attempt to corner the gold market. That event happened long before modern Thanksgiving shopping and is a separate historical use of the same phrase.
The simple version is:
- 1869 Black Friday: a financial crisis.
- 1950s–60s Black Friday: Philadelphia traffic and shopping crowds.
- Modern Black Friday: a major national and international retail event.
When Is Black Friday?
Black Friday is always the Friday immediately after U.S. Thanksgiving.
Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, the exact calendar date changes from year to year.
The important point is that the official date follows Thanksgiving. Retailers are free to launch promotions earlier, but an “Early Black Friday Sale” is still an early promotion—not a different Black Friday.
This distinction is useful when comparing offers because two retailers may both use Black Friday branding while operating completely different promotion schedules.
How Did Black Friday Become Such a Major Shopping Event?
Black Friday did not become a national shopping event all at once.
Shopping after Thanksgiving had already been associated with the start of the Christmas shopping season long before the term became nationally popular. Once “Black Friday” spread beyond Philadelphia, retailers increasingly embraced the day as an opportunity to attract shoppers with special promotions.
Over time, stores opened earlier, promoted larger discounts, and introduced attention-grabbing “doorbuster” offers. These were typically highly promoted deals—sometimes limited by time or inventory—designed to encourage shoppers to arrive early.
Then e-commerce changed the event.
Consumers no longer had to stand outside a store early Friday morning to participate. Black Friday promotions moved online, mobile shopping grew, and retailers could start changing prices before Thanksgiving without waiting for physical stores to open.
Cyber Monday, introduced as an online-focused shopping event after Thanksgiving weekend, further expanded the promotional calendar.
The result is the version of Black Friday we have now:
Thanksgiving week → Black Friday → weekend promotions → Cyber Monday → extended Cyber Week or holiday deals
The original Friday still matters, but the shopping behavior surrounding it has become much broader.
How Do Black Friday Sales Work Today?
There is no single system every retailer follows.
That is one of the most useful things to understand before shopping.
A Black Friday label describes the retail event, not a universal set of pricing rules.
Early Black Friday Sales
Many retailers begin promotions before the official Friday. Some release one offer early and introduce additional deals closer to Thanksgiving. Others make most of the promotion available from the beginning.
An early sale therefore does not automatically mean the offer will improve later—or remain unchanged.
The dates and terms matter more than the phrase “early Black Friday.”
Limited-Time or Limited-Inventory Deals
Some promotions apply only during a certain period or while specific inventory lasts.
Traditional doorbuster deals are the clearest example, but similar limits can apply online. A retailer may discount only certain colors, sizes, configurations, or quantities.
For products with multiple configurations, the advertised starting price may also refer to a different version from the one you actually intend to order.
Storewide and Selected-Product Discounts
“Black Friday sale” does not necessarily mean every item receives the same discount.
A retailer might offer:
- one discount across most products;
- different discounts by category;
- selected sale products;
- clearance pricing;
- coupon-based promotions;
- gifts or bundles tied to spending thresholds;
- different terms for standard and customized products.
The final checkout price and promotion terms are therefore more useful than the largest percentage displayed on a banner.
Online and In-Store Sales
Black Friday is no longer primarily an in-store event.
Adobe Analytics reported that U.S. consumers spent $11.8 billion online on Black Friday in 2025, up 9.1% year over year. Across the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, online spending reached $44.2 billion.
NRF data also shows that Black Friday continues to attract both large online and in-store audiences. In 2025, NRF reported 85.7 million online Black Friday shoppers and 80.3 million in-store shoppers.
So the familiar image of Black Friday as people lining up outside stores is now only part of the story.
EXPLORE BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING
See How a Current Black Friday Offer Works in Practice
Once you understand the difference between the Black Friday date and the sale period, you can compare the actual products, promotion terms, and buying considerations that matter for a larger purchase.
Is Black Friday Still Different From Cyber Monday?
Yes—but the difference is much smaller than it used to be.
Cyber Monday developed as an online-focused shopping event on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday was historically more closely associated with physical stores.
Today, both events operate heavily online.
In 2025, Adobe recorded $11.8 billion in U.S. online spending on Black Friday and $14.25 billion on Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday remained the larger individual e-commerce day, but Black Friday's online growth was faster that year.
That means the old shortcut—
Black Friday = stores
Cyber Monday = online
—is no longer a very useful way to shop.
A better distinction is that they are different points in the holiday promotional calendar, with increasingly overlapping channels, products, and discounts.
For shoppers, the practical question is not necessarily whether Friday or Monday is universally better. It is whether the same product, specification, and promotion can be compared clearly across the dates.
Does Black Friday Always Mean the Lowest Price?
No.
The words “Black Friday” do not by themselves tell you whether a price is the lowest price that product has ever had—or whether it will become cheaper later.
They tell you that the offer is part of a Black Friday promotion.
For an inexpensive item, that distinction may not matter very much. For a high-ticket purchase such as furniture, appliances, or electronics, it becomes much more important.
Consider the exact item rather than just the discount headline:
Is it the same model?
A similar-looking product may have different specifications.
Is it the same configuration?
Size, color, material, seating arrangement, or included features can change the final cost.
What is the actual checkout price?
Coupons, automatic discounts, shipping charges, or required add-ons may change the total.
What are the return terms?
Sale merchandise does not always follow the same policies.
Is the product actually available?
A strong price may matter less if the specific option you want has a substantially different delivery timeline.
The Federal Trade Commission recommends comparing the exact product—including manufacturer or model details—and looking at the total cost rather than the headline price alone. It also advises shoppers to review refund policies and other sale terms.
This leads to a useful rule:
Treat “Black Friday” as the name of the sales event. Treat the actual offer as something you still need to evaluate.
What Should You Check When a Black Friday Sale Starts Early?
An early Black Friday promotion can be useful because it gives you more time to compare, especially for products that require decisions about size, configuration, delivery, or room fit.
But the word “early” should not become the reason to rush.
Before deciding, check:
- the exact product and configuration included;
- the promotion's start and end dates;
- the final price after applicable discounts;
- whether coupon codes are required;
- whether gifts or extras have spending conditions;
- inventory or availability for your selected option;
- delivery charges or other costs;
- return and refund terms;
- any stated price-protection rules.
For a product such as a reclining sofa or home theater seating, this matters even more because a different seat count, arm layout, upholstery option, or power feature can turn what looks like the same sale into a very different purchase.
A discount should help you buy the configuration you already determined makes sense—not determine the configuration for you.
Why Does Black Friday Seem to Start Earlier Every Year?
Because the modern holiday shopping season is no longer concentrated into one weekend.
Retailers compete for shoppers before Thanksgiving, while consumers increasingly begin researching and purchasing earlier. NRF notes that holiday shopping has become more distributed across the season, and retailers have adapted their promotional calendars accordingly.
Online shopping also makes this easier. A retailer does not need to wait for a physical store to open Friday morning to release a promotion.
This is why you may now see phrases such as:
- Black Friday Preview
- Early Black Friday
- Black Friday Week
- Cyber Weekend
- Cyber Week
They are retail campaign labels surrounding the same holiday shopping period, not new official holidays.
FAQ
Is Black Friday a holiday?
Black Friday is not a U.S. federal holiday. It is a retail shopping event held the day after Thanksgiving. Some businesses may operate different hours, but the term itself refers to the shopping day rather than an official public holiday.
Why is Black Friday called Black Friday?
The shopping-related name is most closely associated with Philadelphia, where police used the phrase in the 1950s and 1960s to describe heavy traffic, crowds, and difficult working conditions after Thanksgiving. The later explanation that stores move “from red to black” was a retailer-friendly reinterpretation rather than the original source of the term.
Is Black Friday always the day after Thanksgiving?
Yes. The official Black Friday date is the Friday immediately following U.S. Thanksgiving. Promotional events marketed as “Early Black Friday” may begin sooner.
How long does Black Friday last?
The calendar day lasts one day, but there is no universal length for a Black Friday sale. A retailer may run its promotion for a few hours, several days, through Cyber Monday, or across a longer holiday-sale period.
Do Black Friday deals always start on Friday?
No. Many retailers begin Black Friday-themed promotions before the official Friday. The exact schedule depends on the retailer.
What is the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Black Friday falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving, while Cyber Monday is the following Monday. Cyber Monday developed as an online-focused event, but today both Black Friday and Cyber Monday have major online sales, so the distinction between shopping channels has become much less clear.
Black Friday Is a Date, but the Sale Is a Strategy
The simplest way to understand modern Black Friday is to separate the calendar from the promotion.
Black Friday itself is one specific day: the Friday after Thanksgiving.
The shopping event surrounding it can be much longer.
That shift—from one crowded shopping day to a multi-day, heavily online promotional period—is the reason Black Friday can now seem to begin before Thanksgiving and continue into Cyber Monday or beyond.
Knowing the history helps explain the name. Knowing how modern sales actually work is more useful when it is time to shop.
Rather than assuming every Black Friday label represents the same kind of deal, compare the exact product, final price, configuration, timing, and terms. That makes the event easier to understand—and much easier to use on your own terms.
