Payton Cleary

In 2024, over 81.7 million people went into stores spending around 10.3 billion, averaging around 11.3 million per second on what is commonly known as Black Friday.

The Friday following Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States. National chain stores bring guests into their shops by offering limited time money saving deals on items. Many companies offer similar, or sometimes even lower, deals online.

The term Black Friday stems from the 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia used the term “black friday” to describe the chaos that resulted from large amounts of tourists that came into the city to go holiday shopping.  The commonly understood term for shoppers didn't really take off around the US till the late 1980s. 

As the years and demand for products has increased, Black Friday now  lasts for a month rather than one day. The experience of only one day of sales as an event occurred until the late 1990s. 

With the rise in online shopping, Black Friday has become a month-long event which allows retailers to spread out sales to reduce chaos, generate continuous hype for products and capture early shoppers. This strategy, which includes pre-Black Friday sales and extending deals through what is now known as "Cyber Monday." (Cyber Monday is an online shopping event that occurs on the Monday following Thanksgiving)

Below are several popular deals that are either happening or going to happen this month:

1. MetaQuest 3's VR headset (up to $50 off)

2. Apple Macbook air 13 inch (up to $250 off)

3. Multiple legos 

4. Sephora discounts

5. Apple Watch discount

Black Friday is a time to allow people to go on shopping frenzies for lower prices.