What Is Black Friday Cyber Monday? A Shopify Guide for 2026

Black Friday is one of the largest shopping occasions that occur every year on the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States. For Shopify sellers, it is one of the most crucial ways to generate sales, find new customers, and convert temporary shoppers into regular customers.

Whether through discounts and promotions, product bundles, optimization of the pages, and more rapid checkout process, Shopify stores prepare well ahead of time for this BFCM shopping period.

In this article, we will be discussing the full history of Black Friday, the origin of the name, the dates for Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2026, how these two shopping occasions stack up against each other, and tips and tricks that can help you prepare your Shopify store.

So, here is the full story from the beginning of Black Friday to the information Shopify stores should be aware of before BFCM 2026.

What Is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the USA. This holiday is commonly considered as the shopping day when there are discounts, special offers on products of almost any kind.

This event occurs annually in late November when retailers use this shopping opportunity to make plenty of sales during a very short period. Consumers get a chance to purchase various products with discounts being applied.

Traditionally, Black Friday has been viewed as the beginning of the Christmas shopping period. This perception has remained valid for many years despite the significant changes that have occurred.

Evolution of Black Friday: Originally the day when people could shop in stores was replaced by a week-long promotion period thanks to the emergence of online shopping. Ecommerce revenue generated by Americans during Black Friday amounted to $11.8 billion in 2025 compared to $3.54 billion 10 years ago, which shows how the shopping habits of consumers have changed dramatically. These data were provided by Adobe Analytics and cited by Digital Commerce 360.

These days, plenty of retailers kick off their Black Friday deals days or even weeks early. Shoppers compare prices from their phones and skip the in-store lines entirely.

Why Is It Called Black Friday?

This name has a documented source which is different from what people believe in.

The Philadelphia origins: The commonest explanation of where the name comes from relates to the 1950s and 1960s in Philadelphia. Philadelphia police referred to the day following Thanksgiving as Black Friday because of the traffic jams and overcrowding of people in the city. The traffic was congested, the people working as policemen had to put in many hours in order to control the huge crowd. The next week, the following Saturday was the Army-Navy football match. The police were not referring to the name positively.

The term was adopted gradually and by the 1980s it was national and even the retailers started using it.

The "in the black" story: Another possible explanation you might know is "black" stands for retailers going from being in deficit (their accounts being in red) to being profitable (their accounts in black). This is the popular explanation, and some retailers use it to justify the name, however, historians refer to it as the later version of the name rather than the original.

The 1869 crash: the term Black Friday was also used earlier as a way of describing the gold market crash in the US on September 24, 1869. This does not have any relation to retail, however, shows that the name had a negative meaning even much earlier.

Conclusion: the origin of the term by the police in Philadelphia is the historical explanation while the accounting version is the retail-friendly rebranding.

When Is Black Friday?

Black Friday falls on the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November, which means Black Friday moves each year.

Because the date shifts, it's worth checking each year. In 2026, Black Friday lands on November 27.

What Is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is a Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in America. This holiday is associated with various discounts offered by online shops, which traditionally appear after the Black Friday shopping weekend.

The first Cyber Monday appeared in 2005. Back then, online shopping was not very common, and it turned out that a number of purchases were made online when people returned from the Thanksgiving holiday to work. This holiday received its name from the National Retail Federation.

The way people shop on Cyber Monday has changed since then. It used to be mainly about sitting at a computer and finding deals online. Now, shoppers can buy from their phones in a few minutes, so the distinction between Black Friday shopping and Cyber Monday shopping is not as clear as it once was.

Retailers have also changed how they run the event. Many no longer wait until Monday to start their Cyber Monday deals. Some start promotions before Thanksgiving, while others run the same offer throughout the entire Black Friday and Cyber Monday period.

For shoppers, that means Cyber Monday is no longer necessarily a single day of online deals. It is often part of a longer holiday shopping period that starts well before the actual date.

Why Is It Called Cyber Monday?

The name is fairly straightforward. “Cyber” was used to refer to the internet, while “Monday” refers to the day after the Thanksgiving weekend. The term was first used in 2005 by Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman, who were working with the National Retail Federation. They wanted to describe the increase in online shopping that retailers were seeing on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

There was a practical rationale behind the phenomenon as well. For many people in the mid-2000s, having a good Internet connection was easier at work than at home. The weekend after Thanksgiving was over and they went back to their workplaces and started online shopping.

This was not the case on Black Friday that remained linked with brick-and-mortar stores and early morning shopping.

The name has persisted despite technological advancements in the matter of Internet connection.

Currently, there is less distinction between the two days. Many Black Friday offers can be made online, while some Cyber Monday deals may appear in real stores as well. Nevertheless, the dates are used by retailers because consumers are aware of them.

When Is Cyber Monday?

The Cyber Monday holiday occurs on the Monday right after Thanksgiving in the USA. As Thanksgiving takes place on the fourth Thursday of November, the date of Cyber Monday is different each year.

What Is BFCM?

BFCM stands for Black Friday Cyber Monday. This represents a combination of both Black Friday and Cyber Monday into one marketing period running from Black Friday to Cyber Monday and spanning four days in late November. To ecommerce companies and merchants, BFCM is the most crucial sales opportunity in the entire year.

The term "BFCM" is how the marketers refer to the largest promotion campaigns for the whole year by Shopify merchants, ecommerce companies, and digital advertisers. Both events are combined in one term since many retailers do not consider them as two different campaigns anymore. 

Why the two events are grouped: These two holidays are close to each other – only three days apart. Therefore, launching a single campaign during those two holidays is more cost-effective than launching two different campaigns, one after another. In most cases, many retailers start promoting their BFCM offers several days before Black Friday and continue doing so through Cyber Monday or even further.

How retailers run BFCM campaigns: Usually, the BFCM campaign includes early access emails to subscribers during the week before Black Friday, a complete website sale on Black Friday, special products' presentations on the weekend, and Cyber Monday deals that either replicate the previous offers or introduce something new. Some brands even offer a "Cyber Week" campaign which ends with the next Friday.

BFCM has grown into something broader than two shopping days. For many ecommerce businesses, it now represents a two-to-three-week promotional season.

When Is BFCM 2026?

Black Friday falls on November 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday falls on November 30, 2026. 

These two dates have three days between them. The time between them is the Black Friday weekend. This is the timeline of BFCM 2026:

Is there promotion before Black Friday? Yes there is. Usually many companies send emails to their subscribers with deals in the week leading up to November 27. Some even start their sales as early as the first week of November.

Does it last beyond Cyber Monday? Yes it often does. Cyber Week is a term that extends the promotions until the Friday, after Cyber Monday. Some companies keep their promotions going until mid-December. Those planning to take part in BFCM 2026 should be ready to see deals starting from mid-November and continuing into the beginning of December. 

What Is Black Friday Cyber Monday?

Black Friday Cyber Monday describes the relationship between the two biggest shopping events of the holiday season. They are distinct events with different origins and different traditional formats, but they have merged into a single promotional season for most retailers. 

Traditionally, Black Friday meant offline shopping with early queues, doorbusters, and limited stock. However, there is no difference between such a promotion and an additional online sale now.

Cyber Monday meant online shopping from its very beginning. It became an official holiday on November 28, 2005, since the National Retail Federation's Shop.org introduced the name in 2005 after observing a surge in online shopping sales on the Monday following Thanksgiving.

Now, Black Friday Cyber Monday promotions confuse both holidays even more. A customer may shop in-store on Black Friday, and then make another purchase online using Cyber Monday discount codes in three days' time.

Online vs. brick-and-mortar shopping: Shopping via the internet has now become the most common way for participating in these two events. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse data for Black Friday in 2025, US online shopping increased by 10.4%, whereas sales in physical stores grew by only 1.7%. In-store shopping does occur, but the increase is made through online sales.

Reasons for promotion extensions: These are done to include those shoppers who could not purchase anything during the core two days of the event. It will decrease the pressure on one point of time and also even out customer support. 

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

Comparison between Black Friday and Cyber Monday has become annual for shoppers. They overlap more and more every year, but there are still differences between them.

There is no universal winner. The better day depends on the specific product, the retailer, the offer, and how you prefer to shop. A TV deal on Black Friday might be better than anything available on Cyber Monday. A software subscription might only be discounted on Cyber Monday. Comparing the actual offer matters more than assuming one day is always cheaper.

Is Cyber Monday Better Than Black Friday?

Just because it’s Cyber Monday does not necessarily mean that prices are always cheaper than on Black Friday. Neither day consistently guarantees cheaper prices; it all depends on the specific product you are looking to purchase and the retailers.

Cyber Monday is usually more favorable for exclusive online deals, such as software, digital products, streaming services, and technology accessories. Online retailers usually hold their best deals on Cyber Monday.

Black Friday is usually more advantageous for expensive physical items like TVs, large household appliances, and furniture using the doorbuster pricing strategy to entice customers to visit their stores.

What actually happens: Most large retailers now hold similar deals on both days. It is a notion long outdated since retailers realize that consumers tend to make comparisons.

Advice: Do not expect to get better deals on Cyber Monday, waiting for it because the Black Friday deals may run out. Make comparisons of products on both shopping days and purchase those products that are on discount on Black Friday before they run out of stock.

What Happens During Black Friday?

Black Friday is not just discounts. Retailers use a range of promotional formats to drive sales and urgency.

Common Black Friday promotions include:

• Door Buster Sales: These are huge discounts on select quantities of items to get people in-store early.
• Flash Sales: Special discounts offered for a short period of time for a few hours.
• Site-Wide Percentage Discount Offers: It is a discount applied to the whole site or to the majority of its products.
• Free Shipping: Available either alone or in combination with minimum purchase amounts.
• Bundles: Several different items available for purchase as a pack at a special price.
• Free Gift for Purchase: Free gifts for customers who spend more than some amount on their purchases.
• VIP Access: Discounts available to those who subscribe to company newsletters or have VIP membership.
• Online Discounts: Promo codes, cart discounts, and app-based discounts.
• Extended Black Friday: Most companies start their sales several days ahead of the actual Black Friday date.

A black friday sale today rarely means a single day. Most retailers treat the entire period from the week before Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday as one extended promotional window.

What Types of Products Are Usually Discounted on Black Friday?

Black Friday offers cover almost all kinds of product categories. Certain product categories get more coverage than other categories; however, the extent of the discount depends on the retailer and the year.

• Electronic gadgets: TVs, laptops, tablets, headsets, and cell phones are some of the highly discounted products. This is the most competitive product category.
• Apparel and fashion accessories: Fashion apparel, whether fast fashion brands or luxury brands, offer huge discounts during Black Friday. Seasonal wear receives good discounts.
• Beauty products: Skincare products, cosmetic products, and perfumes are heavily purchased during the Black Friday period. Most of the beauty brands prepare gifts sets for Black Friday.
• Home goods: Beddings, kitchen ware, storage, and interior décor can be found on sale during Black Friday.
• Appliances: Major appliances such as washers, refrigerators and smaller appliances including coffeemakers, airfryers are popular during Black Friday shopping.
• Toys: Due to Christmas coming soon, toy sales during Black Friday period is common.
• Software and subscriptions: Software for security like antivirus, office productivity, and creativity, as well as various subscription services have their lowest price of the year during Black Friday and Cyber Monday period.
• Travel: Some airlines, hotels and travel websites offer Black Friday promotions on their flights, packages, and accommodation services.
• E-commerce products: All consumer brands operate BFCM sales to drive the most traffic on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

There is no product that is always available for a deep discount. It all depends on individual retailers and their promotions.

Black Friday Deals vs. Cyber Monday Deals

Comparing deals goes beyond looking at the percentage off. A 50% discount is not automatically a better deal than a 30% discount.

What to actually compare:

• Original price vs. sale price: Check whether the "original" price is the genuine regular price or an inflated reference price.
• Historical pricing: Use tools like CamelCamelCamel (for Amazon) or browser extensions like Honey to check price history before the sale.
• Bundle value: A bundle deal might include accessories or extras that make it worth more than the headline discount suggests.
• Free shipping: A deal with free shipping may be better value than a slightly deeper discount with paid delivery.
• Warranties and returns: Some Black Friday purchases come with shortened return windows or modified warranty terms. Read the fine print.
• Included accessories: A product sold with accessories included may be better value than the same product at a higher discount without them.
• Subscription conditions: Software or service deals may require a multi-year commitment to unlock the advertised price.
• Limited-time restrictions: Flash sale pricing may only apply for a few hours. Make sure you're comparing like for like.

A larger advertised percentage does not necessarily mean a better overall deal. The actual saving, the total cost, and the purchase conditions all matter.

What Is a Black Monday Sale?

Black Monday is not the commonly used term to refer to the significant shopping day in the U.S. that comes after Thanksgiving. The correct term that refers to the Monday that follows Thanksgiving is Cyber Monday.

Some retailers do use "Black Monday" as marketing language, typically to extend their Black Friday campaign into the following week or to describe a separate flash sale. If you see a retailer advertising a black monday sale, it's worth checking exactly which dates are covered and what offers are included. It may simply be a branded extension of their BFCM campaign.

Do not assume a "Black Monday" sale is an official shopping event equivalent to Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is the recognized term. Black Monday, in this context, is a marketing label some retailers apply to their own promotions.

How Long Does Black Friday Last?

Black Friday used to last exactly one day. That is no longer the case.

The modern Black Friday timeline looks something like this:

• Early Black Friday deals: Some retailers launch discounts one to two weeks before the actual date.
• Black Friday week: Many brands run a full week of deals leading up to Friday.
• Black Friday itself: The core event, with the deepest discounts and the most promotional activity.
• Black Friday weekend: Deals often continue through Saturday and Sunday.
• Small Business Saturday: A dedicated day for supporting independent retailers, falling on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
• Cyber Monday: The online-focused event on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
• Cyber Week: Some retailers extend Cyber Monday deals through the following Friday.
• Extended holiday promotions: Certain brands keep sale pricing active into mid-December.

For shoppers, this means the window to find deals is much wider than a single day. For retailers, it means the pressure to compete is spread across a longer period. You may see discounts before and after the actual Black Friday date, sometimes with little difference in the offers available.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday for Online Shopping

Online shopping has fundamentally changed both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. What was once a primarily in-store event is now dominated by ecommerce.

The growth is significant: U.S. online Black Friday spending reached $11.8 billion in 2025, more than three times the $3.54 billion recorded a decade earlier. Ecommerce grew 10.4% on Black Friday 2025 while in-store traffic grew just 1.7%, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse data.

Mobile shopping now accounts for a major share of BFCM purchases. Shoppers browse and buy from their phones, often while doing other things. Retailers that haven't optimized for mobile lose sales.

Online-only deals are a core part of the BFCM strategy for most brands. Promo codes, app-exclusive discounts, and email-only offers drive traffic to specific channels.

Email and SMS promotions are how most retailers communicate their BFCM offers. Subscribers often get early access or exclusive pricing not available to the general public.

App notifications push time-sensitive deals directly to shoppers' phones, creating urgency without requiring the shopper to be actively browsing.

Personalized offers based on browsing and purchase history have become standard. A shopper who looked at a specific product last week may receive a targeted discount for it during BFCM.

Abandoned-cart reminders are particularly effective during BFCM. Shoppers add items to carts, get distracted, and a well-timed reminder email can recover the sale.

Cybermonday sales are almost entirely online. Free shipping and online-exclusive bundles are the primary drivers. Retailers competing for Cyber Monday traffic invest heavily in their digital channels in the days leading up to it.

How Black Friday Has Changed Over Time

Early Origins

The term "Black Friday" was used in Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s to describe the traffic chaos that followed Thanksgiving. It was not a retail celebration. It was a headache for city workers and police officers managing the crowds.

Growth of Retail Black Friday

Through the 1970s and 1980s, retailers began embracing the day as the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season. The "in the black" accounting narrative helped reframe the name positively. By the 1990s, Black Friday was a national retail event.

Rise of Ecommerce

The growth of the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s started shifting shopping behavior. Retailers launched websites, and shoppers began buying online. Black Friday started to develop an online dimension alongside its in-store tradition.

Cyber Monday

In 2005, Shop.org (part of the National Retail Federation) coined the term "Cyber Monday" after noticing consistent spikes in online sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving. The first official Cyber Monday was November 28, 2005. It gave the online shopping surge its own identity and marketing moment.

BFCM

As both events grew, retailers and ecommerce platforms started treating them as a single campaign window. The acronym BFCM became standard in the Shopify and ecommerce community, representing the full Black Friday through Cyber Monday promotional period.

Mobile Shopping

The smartphone era shifted BFCM behavior significantly. By the early 2010s, a meaningful share of purchases were happening on mobile devices. By the mid-2010s, mobile had become the primary browsing channel. Retailers had to rethink their entire digital experience.

Extended Black Friday Campaigns

By the late 2010s, "Black Friday" had become a season rather than a day. Retailers started launching deals earlier each year. Today, some brands begin their BFCM campaigns in the first week of November, and promotions can run through mid-December.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday vs. BFCM

For anyone new to these terms, here is a simple breakdown:

Black Friday is the original event. Cyber Monday is the online-focused counterpart that started in 2005. BFCM is the umbrella term that covers both, used primarily by retailers and ecommerce teams to describe their combined campaign strategy.

If someone says "our BFCM campaign," they mean everything from the Black Friday launch through Cyber Monday, and often a few days either side of those dates.

Tips for Finding Better Black Friday Deals

1. Compare prices before the sale. Check what the product costs in the weeks before Black Friday. A genuine discount should be lower than the regular price, not a manufactured markdown from an inflated reference price.
2. Research products in advance. Know exactly which model or version you want before the sale starts. Retailers sometimes discount older models while the current version stays full price.
3. Check return policies. Some Black Friday purchases come with modified return windows. Know the policy before you buy, especially for gifts.
4. Look beyond percentage discounts. A 40% discount on an overpriced item may be worse value than a 20% discount on a fairly priced one. Focus on the actual sale price.
5. Compare bundle value. If a deal includes accessories or extras, calculate what those would cost separately. Sometimes bundles are genuinely good value. Sometimes they're not.
6. Check shipping costs. Free shipping can make a smaller discount more attractive. Factor in delivery costs when comparing offers across retailers.
7. Watch for fake urgency. Countdown timers and "only 2 left" messages are common during BFCM. Some are genuine. Some are not. Don't let artificial urgency push you into a purchase you haven't thought through.
8. Read product reviews. A heavily discounted product with poor reviews is not a deal. Check independent reviews before buying, especially for electronics and appliances.
9. Set a budget. BFCM is designed to encourage spending. Decide what you're willing to spend before the sale starts, and stick to it.
10. Check whether the promotion has restrictions. Some deals require a minimum spend, a specific payment method, or a loyalty account. Read the terms before you get to checkout.

Tips for Shopify and Ecommerce Stores During BFCM

BFCM is the highest-traffic, highest-revenue period of the year for most ecommerce stores. Preparation matters more than the deals themselves.

• Product pages and collections: Make sure your product pages are accurate, fast, and complete. Create a dedicated BFCM sale collection so shoppers can browse all discounted items in one place. If you're running Shopify store optimization work before BFCM, prioritize product page speed and image compression.
• Mobile UX: Most BFCM traffic arrives on mobile. Test your store on multiple devices and screen sizes. A checkout that breaks on mobile loses real revenue.
• Site speed: Slow pages lose sales, especially during peak traffic. Compress images, reduce app bloat, and test your store under load before the campaign launches.
• Checkout testing: Run through your entire checkout process, including discount code application, before Black Friday. A broken promo code on the day is a preventable problem.
• Inventory preparation: Know your stock levels before you launch deals. Selling out of a promoted product with no back-in-stock notification frustrates customers and damages trust.
• Bundles: Product bundles increase average order value and can make your offer feel more distinctive than a straight percentage discount. Build and test your bundles before the campaign.
• Email marketing: Your email list is your most reliable BFCM channel. Plan your send schedule in advance: a teaser email, an early-access send for subscribers, a launch email on Black Friday, and a Cyber Monday reminder at minimum.
• SMS: SMS open rates are high during BFCM. If you have an SMS list, use it for time-sensitive deal alerts.
• Retargeting: Set up retargeting campaigns before BFCM. Shoppers who visit your store during the sale period and don't convert are warm leads. Retargeting ads keep your offers visible.
• Customer support: BFCM brings more orders and more questions. Make sure your support team or tools are ready for the volume. Slow responses during the sale window cost you reviews and repeat customers.
• Post-purchase retention: The customers you acquire during BFCM are worth keeping. Set up a post-purchase email sequence that encourages a second purchase, requests a review, or introduces your loyalty program.

If you're planning your Shopify BFCM preparation now, start with your site speed, your email sequences, and your sale collections. Those three areas have the biggest impact on BFCM revenue. And if you haven't done an ecommerce SEO audit recently, BFCM is a good reason to run one: organic traffic during the sale period is free, and well-optimized product pages capture it.

Conclusion

Black Friday is more than a single day of discounts. It marks the start of one of the most important sales periods of the year, with Black Friday on November 27 and Cyber Monday on November 30 in 2026. Together, they create BFCM, a major opportunity for Shopify merchants to attract shoppers, increase sales, and build long-term customer relationships.

For Shopify brands, success during BFCM depends on more than offering the biggest discount. Merchants should prepare their stores early, create compelling offers, optimize product pages, improve the shopping experience, and make sure their store can handle increased traffic and orders.

Whether you're launching your first Black Friday campaign or preparing an established Shopify store for another BFCM season, the key is to plan ahead and focus on offers and experiences that give customers a real reason to buy.

For ecommerce store owners, BFCM preparation starts weeks before the sale. If your store isn't ready, the traffic won't convert. Start with your product pages, your email sequences, and your site speed, and consider a Shopify SEO audit to make sure your organic visibility is working for you during the highest-traffic period of the year.

FAQ

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States and one of the biggest shopping events of the year. Retailers offer significant discounts across most product categories, both in stores and online. It marks the start of the holiday shopping season and has expanded over the years into a multi-day promotional period that connects directly to Cyber Monday.

What is BFCM?

BFCM stands for Black Friday Cyber Monday. It refers to the combined promotional period that runs from Black Friday through Cyber Monday in late November. Retailers, especially ecommerce brands and Shopify merchants, use BFCM as shorthand for their biggest campaign of the year, often running deals across the full four-day window and sometimes extending them further.

When is BFCM 2026?

BFCM 2026 runs from Black Friday on November 27, 2026 through Cyber Monday on November 30, 2026. Thanksgiving falls on November 26, 2026, and Small Business Saturday is November 28, 2026. Many retailers will launch early deals before November 27 and extend promotions through Cyber Week into early December.

What does Black Friday Cyber Monday mean?

Black Friday Cyber Monday describes the combined shopping period that starts on Black Friday and runs through Cyber Monday. The two events are closely linked: Black Friday traditionally focuses on in-store deals, while Cyber Monday is online-first. Together, they form the peak retail and ecommerce sales window of the year, commonly referred to as BFCM.

When is Black Friday 2026?

Black Friday 2026 falls on Friday, November 27, 2026. It is always the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving, which in 2026 is November 26. Retailers typically begin promoting their Black Friday deals well in advance, with some launching early-access offers in the first two weeks of November.

Is Cyber Monday better than Black Friday?

Cyber Monday is not automatically better than Black Friday. Neither day consistently offers lower prices across every category. Cyber Monday tends to be stronger for online-exclusive deals, software, and subscriptions. Black Friday can be better for large appliances, electronics, and in-store purchases. The best approach is to compare the actual offer on both days rather than assuming one is always cheaper.

What is the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving and traditionally focuses on in-store retail, though it now includes major online sales. Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving and was created specifically for online shopping. Black Friday tends to feature doorbuster deals and physical retail promotions, while Cyber Monday focuses on online-exclusive discounts, promo codes, and digital products.

How long does Black Friday last?

Black Friday no longer lasts just one day. Most retailers now run Black Friday deals for at least a week, with some launching early offers two weeks before the date. The promotional period typically runs through Cyber Monday and sometimes extends into Cyber Week, which ends the following Friday. Some brands keep sale pricing active into mid-December.

Why is it called Black Friday?

The name comes from Philadelphia, where police used the term in the 1950s and 1960s to describe the traffic chaos and crowding that hit the city the day after Thanksgiving. The phrase spread nationally over the following decades. A later explanation linked "black" to retailers moving from losses to profit, but historians treat this as a retail rebranding rather than the original meaning.

Are Black Friday deals better than Cyber Monday deals?

Not necessarily. The quality of a deal depends on the product, the retailer, and the specific offer, not the day. Some products are discounted more deeply on Black Friday; others see their best pricing on Cyber Monday. Shoppers should compare actual prices on both days, check price history using tools like CamelCamelCamel, and evaluate the full value of the offer including shipping, returns, and any included extras.

Useful Sources

• Wikipedia: Black Friday (shopping)
• Britannica: Why Is It Called Black Friday?
• Britannica: Cyber Monday
• History.com: Black Friday Origins
• Investopedia: Black Friday Economic Impact
• Digital Commerce 360: Black Friday Ecommerce Sales
• NBC News: Evolution of Black Friday
• TimeandDate.com: Black Friday Dates
• NationalToday: Small Business Saturday

About the Author

Jay Raval

SEO & Content Marketing Specialist at WebContrive

Jay Raval is an SEO & Content Marketing Specialist at WebContrive, a Certified Shopify Plus Partner agency. He writes about Shopify SEO, eCommerce growth, CRO, AI commerce, and Shopify apps based on real-world experience working with Shopify brands.

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