Businesses participate in Black Friday mainly to drive huge spikes in sales, clear inventory before year‑end, and grab customer attention at the start of the holiday shopping season. Even when margins on individual items are thin, the event can boost overall revenue, brand visibility, and long‑term customer relationships.

Core reasons businesses join in

  • Kick off holiday spending : Black Friday is treated as the unofficial start of the peak shopping season, when consumers are primed to spend more than usual. Being absent can mean missing a once‑a‑year surge in demand.
  • Clear old or excess inventory: Retailers use aggressive discounts to move last‑season or over‑ordered stock that is taking up storage space and tying up cash.
  • Acquire new customers: Big headline deals attract new and lapsed shoppers, giving brands a chance to capture emails, build remarketing lists, and turn deal‑hunters into repeat buyers later.
  • Increase basket size: Doorbuster offers bring people in, but profit often comes from the additional, full‑price or lightly discounted items added to carts while they are in the store or on the site.
  • Compete for attention: When competitors are running campaigns, many businesses feel pressure to participate just to stay visible in ads, inboxes, and social feeds.

How the math can still work

  • Loss leaders and cross‑selling: Some items may be sold at break‑even or a loss, but retailers rely on volume and cross‑selling to keep overall profit healthy.
  • Planned margins and special SKUs: Brands sometimes design specific products or bundles for Black Friday that can be discounted heavily while still protecting margins through manufacturing costs and rebates from suppliers.
  • “Discounts” from inflated base prices: In some cases, the pre‑sale price is raised before being “cut,” so the real discount is smaller than the advertised 40–50%, preserving profitability.

Strategic benefits beyond one day

  • Brand awareness and buzz: The cultural attention around Black Friday keeps a brand top‑of‑mind; even if not every visitor buys, the exposure can pay off later in the season.
  • Shaping customer behavior: Promotions can nudge people to shop earlier, choose particular product categories, or shift to channels the company wants to grow (like online instead of in‑store).
  • Data and insights: The intense traffic gives businesses a large testbed for pricing, messaging, and website or store layouts, generating data they can use for future campaigns.

Why some businesses hesitate

  • Margin pressure: Deep discount expectations can erode profitability, especially for small businesses that lack scale.
  • Brand positioning risk: Constant lower prices can train customers to wait for sales and weaken a brand’s premium or “crafted” image.
  • Operational stress: Handling spikes in orders, returns, and customer service can strain teams and hurt regular operations if not well prepared.

Recent trends and evolving attitudes

  • Shift to longer “Black Friday season”: Many retailers now spread deals over several days or weeks (including Cyber Monday), aiming for steadier sales instead of a single chaotic spike.
  • Emphasis on values and alternatives: Some brands downplay Black Friday or focus on Small Business Saturday and “shop local” messaging to align with community and sustainability values.
  • Smarter participation: Rather than blanket discounts, more companies use targeted offers, loyalty‑member specials, or bundles that provide perceived value without destroying margins.

TL;DR: Businesses participate in Black Friday because it concentrates consumer attention and spending into a short window, letting them drive revenue, clear stock, and gain customers—even if that means sacrificing margin on some products to win bigger long‑term gains.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.