What Is Black Friday?

^{What is Black Friday?}

^{Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. During this annual shopping holiday, retailers usually offer steep discounts to kick off the holiday season.}

^{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. According to the NRF, from 2017 to 2021, the holiday season accounted for about 19% of annual sales for many retailers.}

^{Many retailers open late on Thanksgiving Day or Friday morning. Some shoppers wait in line to get the best deals, and shopping continues through the weekend.}^{In 2021, for example, shoppers spent an average of $301.27 from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.}

^{Example of Black Friday.}

^{The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates 179.8 million unique shoppers made in-store and online purchases during the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend, up from NRF's initial expectation of 21 million.}

^{Despite inflation, Black Friday spending is likely to be higher again this year, according to the NRF. They predict that all holiday spending will increase 6% to 8% over last year, an early sign that the day after Thanksgiving could have a big economic impact.}

^{Note: The NRF found that 46% of holiday shoppers start shopping before November, with most saying they start early to spread out their spending.}

^{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 could be important for the economy, especially for some retailers.}

^{The term "Black Friday" has its roots in the mid-20th century. Philadelphia police first used the term "Black Friday" to refer to heavy, disrupted traffic the day after Thanksgiving.}