Black Friday is the name of the most significant sales day of the year in the United States. It takes place the Friday after Thanksgiving. This year Black Friday is on Friday, November 29.

What makes Black Friday, Black Friday? Brief History

It’s an annual retail advertisement. Every year brands and retailers run special offers, deals, and discounts on tons of products and shoppers get pretty hyped about it all.

So excited, that 51% of US internet users said they would shop digitally at the Thanksgiving table if it meant they could, quote, “get an amazing deal”.

The origin of the term Black Friday is up for debate.

There are numerous accounts about how and when the phrase first came to be. But we feel this one makes the most sense. The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper first coined the phrase Black Friday back in 1981. The story relates to how, in those days, financial accountants wrote their statements with a pen and paper, using red ink to record losses, and Black for the profits.

So, if you believe the Philadelphia Inquirer, Black Friday was the day when US retailers made so many sales that they were able to come out of the red, and into the Black.

All thanks to the sudden and drastic increase in sales over the holiday weekend. In recent years, Black Friday has become an integral day in the calendars of retailers. It’s no surprise that brick and mortar store owners have traditionally enjoyed the bumper profits that Black Friday brings.

But this shopping extravaganza is emigrating to the virtual world. In 2018, E-commerce sales on Black Friday surpassed in-store purchases for the first time in history.

Now let’s look at some Black Friday statistics of 2018

for last year, so we can get a better idea of what to expect at this time around.

Last year one hundred and 74 million Americans went shopping on the Black Friday weekend. That’s over half of the country. And if these people formed a nation of Black

Friday shoppers, it’d be the eighth largest country by population in the world.

Black Friday hits $6.2B in US online sales. The days from Thanksgiving through to the following Monday capture 20% of all online shopping during the holiday period.

The average expenditure of $175.65 per person. Two hundred and fifty-one dollars of that average was spent on gifts. Black Friday 2019 show that millennial’s were the biggest shoppers during Black Friday.

The average spend for those aged 25 to 34 was four hundred and nineteen dollars and fifty-two cents. Over Black Friday 85% of Americans planning to open their wallets on this Black Friday. At 78% of couple spend last Black Friday and they plan to spend an average $545 on this cyber Monday.

62% of consumers said they planned to do shopping online during Black Friday 2018 compared to 42% who prefer to shop in-store. And 29% of smartphone owners said they used their device to make a purchase.