🛍️ Black Friday Countdown
November 27, 2026
About Black Friday
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally considered the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. The name "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in the 1950s and 60s to describe the heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic the day after Thanksgiving. It later came to refer to retailers going "into the black" (profitability) with holiday sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Black Friday each year?
Black Friday is always the day after Thanksgiving — the fourth Friday of November — falling between November 23 and November 29. It is followed by Small Business Saturday (encouraging shopping at local businesses) and Cyber Monday (online deals).
What are the best things to buy on Black Friday?
Electronics — particularly TVs, laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles — typically see the deepest genuine discounts on Black Friday. Major appliances, furniture, bedding, clothing and shoes, toys, and sporting equipment also see strong sales. Items that are NOT reliably good Black Friday buys include jewelry (modest discounts), luxury goods, and anything in high demand where the discount is easily undercut by price manipulation.
Is it better to shop in-store or online on Black Friday?
Online shopping has largely matched or surpassed in-store deals for most product categories. Online purchases allow comparison shopping across retailers without driving to multiple stores, offer protection from sold-out inventory, and avoid the physical crowds. Certain in-store doorbuster deals are exclusive and genuinely limited, but the era of camping outside for one TV deal has largely given way to online deal-hunting.
What is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving, created in 2005 by the National Retail Federation to encourage online holiday shopping. Initially it recognized that online shopping spiked on the Monday after Thanksgiving when workers returned to their office computers with faster internet connections. Today it is one of the largest online shopping days of the year, with over $11 billion spent in a single day in recent years.