Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year.
With epic sales and deals in both online and physical stores, it’s your chance to use this peak in online spending to increase sales, store traffic, and brand awareness.
In this article, we’ll brief you on all things important – when does Black Friday shopping start, what is Cyber Monday, how they came to be, and how to prepare your storefront for the unofficial start of the 2024 holiday shopping season.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no additional cost to you.
When is Black Friday 2024?
When does Black Friday start?
On Friday, November 29, 2024.
It’s your chance to take advantage of the biggest shopping event of the year: Black Friday 2024, with huge discounts and special promotions.
And when is Black Friday over? Officially – the day after Thanksgiving, but your chance to offer the best savings doesn’t start and end on November 29.
To avoid large crowds and fulfillment delays, many stores and most major retailers, like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy, start early Black Friday promotions in late October and the first weeks of November.
Black Friday deals continue through Thanksgiving weekend and end right before Cyber Monday.
When is Cyber Monday 2024?
Cyber Monday kicks off on Monday, December 2, 2024.
In the United States, this event marks the start of the Christmas shopping season and was created by online retailers to drive online shopping with exceptional bargains.
Move from heavy traffic and large crowds at shopping malls and prepare your online store for massive sales to entice shoppers looking for deals from the comfort of their homes. Optimize your product listings with relevant keywords, create limited-time offers, and leverage social media campaigns to maximize visibility.
Make it happen today!
Cyber Monday vs Black Friday
| Black Friday | Cyber Monday | |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | A shopping event for both in-store and online purchases. | A shopping event for online eCommerce sales. |
| When is it? | Black Friday officially starts the day after Thanksgiving, November 29, but online sales are from October through the Thanksgiving weekend. | Cyber Monday takes place on the Monday after Thanksgiving and technically lasts for 24 hours, but some online retailers run a Cyber Monday week. |
| What to sell? | Latest generation tech, furniture, and other home and garden products. | Smart phones, TVs and appliances, apparel and accessories. |
A brief history of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Black Friday
While in recent years it’s known as the biggest shopping day of the year, the term ‘Black Friday’ originated in the 1960s on a slightly less positive note.
It was a way for police officers in Philadelphia to describe the traffic, accidents, shoplifting, and general chaos caused by suburban tourists who had arrived in town to begin their holiday shopping.
That all changed in the late 1980s when most retailers and shopping malls, seeing increased profits and many consumers in long lines to get the best deals, gave Black Friday a more positive spin.
Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday originated in 2005 when the National Retail Federation noticed a trend of increased online shopping on the Monday following Thanksgiving.
Initially, the phenomenon was driven by people shopping from their workplace computers on the Monday after Thanksgiving day, taking advantage of their offices’ faster internet connections. The trend evolved as high-speed internet became more widespread in homes, but the name stuck.
Over the years, Cyber Monday has become one of the biggest eCommerce shopping days globally. Retailers now offer exclusive, website-only deals, expanding the event beyond its initial concept. By 2014, Cyber Monday had become the biggest online shopping day of the year in the United States.
What to expect from Black Friday and what is Cyber Week?
Let’s look at some interesting and useful facts from the previous year.
Money Talks
Black Friday sales reached a record $9.6 billion in 2023, overshadowed by the staggering $12 billion achieved on Cyber Monday.
Over the entire Cyber Week, consumers spent around $27 billion.
Sales Start Early
Late November holiday sales start a few days to a month in advance.
What started as a way to avoid shipping and supply chain issues has become a common business practice.
Shoppers Want Gifts
The holiday season sales were dominated by toys and games, followed closely by electronics, with AirPods at the top of the list.
Although this might not initially mean much for your eCommerce business if you’re selling customizable products, it’s important to recognize an opportunity to sell products that accompany hot-selling goods.
Cyber Monday Is the New Black Friday
Although Black Friday is still the biggest shopping day of the year, Cyber Monday has taken the lead in eCommerce sales, in part due to its growing popularity in other countries.
If recent history serves as any indication, it’s also set for further growth during the shopping season in the years ahead.
Make it happen today!
How can online retailers prepare for Cyber Monday and Black Friday?
To set your stores up for Cyber Monday and Black Friday deals, you need to know what sells best and how to promote it.
With November (and Christmas Eve for that matter) right around the corner, we’ve prepared a short list of things to turn your eCommerce store into the go-to place for holiday season goods.
- Start early. Retailers start offering Big Friday and Monday deals many weeks in advance. Don’t give your competitors the upper hand, and prepare your shop.
- Use email marketing. Create a mailing list to use one of the most effective digital marketing tools to let your regular customers know about the Black Friday deals in your shop.
- Promote discounts. The average discount offered on the biggest shopping day is 25%. Use bold, eye-catching visuals to highlight your deals and capture the attention of shoppers hunting for the best bargains.
- Use SEO. Optimize your product listings by using the right keywords. To make this easier, find a keyword tool created for your specific sales channel – eRank for Etsy, Semrush for Shopify, and others.
- Use social media. From Black Friday promotions to early Cyber Monday sales to excellent product advertising, use the power of social media to attract shoppers.
Create a reliable sales strategy by following our guide on the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing ideas.
Prepare for the official holiday shopping season
Cyber Monday and Black Friday 2024 mark the unofficial beginning of the holiday sales season, but these are not the only days that can bring online stores a spike in sales.
Mark your calendar for all major holidays to be ready for the shopping boom.
Annual events to keep on your radar
Staying ahead of key retail events throughout the year can significantly increase foot traffic and drive online sales. Many retailers capitalize on these dates with discounts and promotions, especially during the Christmas shopping season, to attract eager shoppers.
| Event | When |
|---|---|
| Christmas | December 25 |
| New Year | January 1 |
| Valentine’s Day | February 14 |
| St. Patrick’s Day | March 17 |
| Easter | Varies |
| Mother’s Day | Second Sunday of May |
| Pride Month | June |
| Groundhog Day | February 2 |
| Father’s Day | Third Sunday of June |
| 4th of July | July 4 |
| Labor Day | First Monday of September |
| Back-to-School | End of August/Beginning of September |
| Halloween | October 31 |
Get your store ready – offer relevant deals during these dates and start your marketing campaigns early. It’s your chance to become the go-to seller for seasonal goods, gifts, and merchandise for special events year-round.
FAQ
Let’s start with when. Does Black Friday shopping begin on the same Friday? No. Big retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Target start their activities at least a week before, gradually increasing discounts and deals as Black Friday approaches. Then, the deals hit the peak on Cyber Monday. Follow their lead to lure in shoppers and benefit from Black Friday 2024.
No! It’s not on the same date every year, but it does always happen on the same day.
Black Friday falls on the fourth Friday of November, following Thanksgiving in the United States – November 29, 2024.
The term ‘Black Friday’ originated in the 1960s, when Philadelphia police used it to describe the chaos – heavy traffic, accidents, and shoplifting – caused by crowds of shoppers. In the late 1980s, retailers rebranded it with a more positive connotation, highlighting the day as a major profit-boosting event that kicks off the holiday shopping season.
Black Friday is ideal for broad appeal – in-store deals and online bargains – before the December holiday frenzy. Cyber Monday is perfect for online-only retailers, targeting tech-savvy consumers looking for exclusive online deals.
In recent years, many retailers have benefited from participating in both events, maximizing sales opportunities across the weekend. Choose based on your target audience, product offerings, and sales strategy.
Black Friday – Online and offline goldmine for big and small retailers
Stay alert this November and offer the best deals to raise brand awareness and profits – Black Friday is your chance to get your products out in the open.
Be prepared for Cyber Week and stay ahead of your competing stores by offering click-worthy deals and discounts, optimized listings, and bargains that will make people shop ’til they drop.
Enhance your customer experience by adding customized products to your Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals with Printify.
