The day after Thanksgiving has become one of the most recognisable moments of the year, a cultural and commercial wave known simply as Black Friday.
What began as a local expression in one American city has transformed into a global shopping tradition- one that reshapes retail, influences economies, and captures the excitement of millions who wait all year for the historic bargains and festive rush.
Black Friday is no longer just a sale; it’s a story of how people shop, how businesses adapt, and how a single day can evolve into a worldwide phenomenon.
How Black Friday Really Got Its Name
Though often linked to profits and accounting, the name ‘Black Friday’ originally had nothing to do with retail success. In the early 1960s, police officers in Philadelphia began using the term to describe the overwhelming crowds and traffic chaos that hit the city the day after Thanksgiving.
Shoppers, tourists, and football fans flooded the streets before the annual Army–Navy game, creating gridlock and long, difficult workdays for the police.
Retailers disliked the phrase at first, but they couldn’t escape it – the name stuck. Over time, the meaning shifted as businesses realised the day brought a massive surge in revenue. By the late 1980s, a more positive narrative took hold: Black Friday was the moment stores moved from ‘red’ to ‘black’ in their accounting books, signalling profit.
Black Friday Became a National Shopping Tradition
Although shopping the day after Thanksgiving had been common since the early 20th century, it wasn’t until the 1970s and 1980s that major retailers leaned into the idea of turning it into a blockbuster sales event.
By the 1990s, Black Friday had fully entered American culture. Long queues outside department stores, midnight openings, and limited-time doorbuster offers became traditions in their own right. Many families treated it as a yearly outing- an early start to holiday shopping and a continuation of the festive Thanksgiving spirit.
The Digital Revolution: From Store Lines to Online Carts
As online shopping grew, Black Friday moved beyond crowded malls. The arrival of Cyber Monday in 2005 marked a new chapter: shoppers who wanted deals without the rush could find them online. Retailers quickly adapted, offering digital discounts days, sometimes even weeks before Thanksgiving.
Today, many shoppers browse deals from their phones rather than waiting outside stores at dawn. Black Friday has expanded into a weeklong digital event, with online sales often surpassing in-store purchases.
A Global Phenomenon
What once belonged exclusively to the United States has now spread worldwide. Countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America now promote their own Black Friday campaigns — sometimes under new names like White Friday in the Gulf region or Big Friday on global e-commerce platforms.
In markets like the UK, India, Brazil, and South Africa, the day has become one of the biggest retail moments of the year, proving how deeply Black Friday’s influence has travelled.
Despite its evolution, the heart of Black Friday remains the same: the promise of good deals, the excitement of the holiday season, and the thrill of finding the perfect purchase at the perfect price. For businesses, the day often helps determine year-end performance. For shoppers, it marks the unofficial start of holiday gifting.
From a chaotic day in 1960s Philadelphia to a global retail event stretching across continents, Black Friday has come a long way. It has adapted to new technologies, new consumer habits, and new economic realities.
