Black Friday History, Origin, and Meaning

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday falls right after Thanksgiving in the United States. For many workers, it is also a day off.

Back in the late 1800s, many stores sponsored Thanksgiving parades. After the parades, the stores opened their doors, marking the start of the holiday shopping season. The exact year this tradition began is unknown, but by the beginning of the 20th century, it had become common for retailers to start their holiday-season sales as soon as Thanksgiving ended.

On this day, sellers offer products with special shopping deals and great discounts. The day is considered the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

History of Black Friday

In history, this day was a stock market catastrophe that took place on Sept 24, 1869. After a period of uncontrolled speculation, the price of gold dropped, and the markets crashed. Since 2005, Black Friday has remained the busiest shopping day in the United States. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday of November. In 1939, during a five-Thursday November, business leaders asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt to move the holiday back a week so that the holiday shopping season could start earlier. President Franklin agreed and, after several years, Americans settled into celebrating Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday in November so that retailers can start holiday sales before December.

image of a girl holding shoppers wearing red coat

Shopping on Black Friday

Origin of the Black Friday Name

We all have heard about Black Friday. Do you know how this “black” word was added to Friday?

Black refers to black ink used on handwritten ledgers to denote profit. This story began with retailers to make the name sound more favorable.

The real origin of the Black Friday term came from Philadelphia, where the Navy-Army football game is played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving every year.

Hiring and Spending on Black Friday

Black Friday Deals

100 million people shopped in a physical store on Black Friday 2016 and spent $7.9 billion.

$655.8 billion was spent over the 2016 holiday season.

$935.58 amount spent per shopper over the 2016 holiday season

500,000 was the estimated number of workers hired for the 2017 holiday season.

In 2019, according to Adobe Analytics data, Black Friday hit a new record with consumers spending $9.0 billion, an increase of 21.6% year over year (online sales hit $7.4 billion on Black Friday in 2019).

Black Friday 2024 set a record for online sales, with the U.S. spending an estimated $10.8 billion, a 10.2% increase from the previous year. Globally, online sales reached $74.4 billion, a 5% increase year-over-year. The record spending was driven by significant discounts, especially in categories like toys, electronics, and apparel, with many consumers opting to shop online via mobile devices.

Black Friday Deals 2020

Cyber Monday 2020 collected data of $10.8 billion, which makes it the biggest e-commerce day in US history at that time. Despite COVID-19, the amount spent in 2020 increased as millions of shoppers shifted to online buying, setting a new benchmark for the holiday shopping season.

Black Friday Deals 2021

Cyber Monday 2021 recorded $10.7 billion in online spending Practical Ecommerce, remaining one of the biggest online shopping days of the year despite a slight dip from 2020's record. Shopify merchants collectively reached $6.3 billion in global sales across the Black Friday–Cyber Monday weekend, a 23% increase over 2020 Shopify, showing that independent retailers thrived even as supply chain issues and inflation reshaped consumer behavior. In-store traffic rebounded sharply, rising 61% compared to 2020 Practical Ecommerce, signaling a return to hybrid shopping that would define the years ahead.

Black Friday Deals 2022

Cyber Monday 2022 set a new record with $11.3 billion in online spending, representing 5.8% growth year-over-year Adobe Newsroom. Across Cyber Week, consumers spent a total of $35.3 billion, bolstered by Black Friday reaching $9.12 billion and Thanksgiving hitting $5.29 billion Adobe Newsroom. Despite ongoing inflation concerns, mobile shopping drove over half of all online sales for the first time Practical Ecommerce, marking a turning point in how Americans shop during the holiday season.

Black Friday Deals 2024

Cyber Monday 2024 brought in a record $13.3 billion in US online spending, up 7.3% year-over-year, making it the single biggest online shopping day in history at that point Chain Store Age. Black Friday also broke records at $10.8 billion, and the full Cyber Week drove $41.1 billion online, up 8.2% from the prior year Chain Store Age. A standout trend was the explosive rise of AI-powered shopping, with traffic to retail sites from generative AI chatbots surging 1,950% on Cyber Monday alone Chain Store Age.

Black Friday Deals 2025

Cyber Monday 2025 reached a record $14.25 billion in US online spending, up 7.1% year-over-year, with consumers spending $16 million every minute during peak hours Adobe Newsroom. Black Friday grew even faster at 9.1% to $11.8 billion, and the full Cyber Week totaled $44.2 billion, up 7.7% overall Adobe Newsroom. AI-powered shopping assistants played an increasingly significant role, with Salesforce estimating they contributed to $14.2 billion of total global online spending on Black Friday Fortune, a clear sign that artificial intelligence has become a core driver of the modern holiday shopping experience.