Black Friday exists today mainly as a huge kickoff to the holiday shopping season, created and amplified by retailers because it reliably drives massive sales and consumer spending right after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Over time it has turned into a global marketing event, with many countries adopting the name and discount tradition even without celebrating Thanksgiving.

What Black Friday Actually Is

  • It is the Friday immediately after U.S. Thanksgiving and is treated as the unofficial start of the Christmas/holiday shopping season.
  • Big chains use limited‑time discounts, “doorbusters,” and special promotions to lure shoppers into stores and onto websites.
  • Because many people have the day off, it concentrates shopping into a single, highly visible day, which makes it attractive for retailers and advertisers.

Where the Name Came From

  • A common modern story is that it is the day retailers go from being “in the red” (losses) to “in the black” (profits), but historians treat this as a later marketing spin, not the original meaning.
  • In the 1960s, police and locals in Philadelphia were already calling the crowded, chaotic post‑Thanksgiving shopping day “Black Friday” because of heavy traffic and disorder downtown.
  • The more positive “red to black” explanation spread nationwide in the 1980s, when retailers wanted a friendlier, profit‑focused story for the same name.

Why Retailers Push It So Hard

  • The holiday period is crucial for annual revenue, so stores compete aggressively on this day to grab shoppers’ budgets early in the season.
  • Deep discounts and “event” marketing get people to buy big‑ticket items (TVs, electronics, appliances) they might otherwise delay or skip.
  • Extending Black Friday into “Black Friday week” or even “Black November” lets shoppers spread out spending, while still keeping attention on retail promotions.

How It Turned Into a Global Trend

  • Online shopping and global platforms (large marketplaces, international brands) exported the Black Friday idea far beyond the U.S., even in places where Thanksgiving is not a holiday.
  • Many non‑U.S. retailers now run Black Friday campaigns simply because customers expect deals around late November and because competitors are doing the same.
  • In some regions, Black Friday is now more of a generic “big sale day” brand than a culturally tied post‑Thanksgiving event.

Different Viewpoints on Black Friday

  • Supporters like the chance to save on expensive items and to get a head start on holiday gifts, especially during periods of inflation or economic stress.
  • Critics see it as a symbol of over‑consumption, with concerns about crowds, worker conditions, environmental impact, and the pressure to spend.
  • Some people ignore it entirely or wait for other events (Cyber Monday, local sales, or small‑business campaigns) that better match their values or shopping style.

TL;DR: We have Black Friday because retailers discovered that the day after Thanksgiving is a perfect moment to trigger intense holiday spending, then wrapped it in a powerful name, heavy discounts, and global marketing until it became a worldwide shopping ritual.

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