How Black Friday Became a Shopping Tradition

Black Friday is often described as the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season in the United States. The name, however, did not begin as a cheerful retail slogan, and the familiar story that it originally referred to stores moving from losses in red ink to profits in black ink came later.

The shopping meaning of Black Friday developed over decades. Its roots are closely associated with Philadelphia, where the day after Thanksgiving became known for enormous crowds, heavy traffic and the start of Christmas shopping. From there, the term spread nationally and eventually became one of the best-known shopping events of the year.

There was an earlier “Black Friday” — but it was not about shopping

The phrase “Black Friday” existed long before the modern retail event. One famous earlier use referred to the U.S. gold-market crisis of September 24, 1869. That financial episode is part of the history of the phrase, but it is separate from the later Thanksgiving-shopping meaning.

This distinction matters because several different events have been called Black Friday at different times. The modern shopping tradition has its own history.

The shopping name took hold in Philadelphia

By the middle of the twentieth century, the Friday after Thanksgiving brought large numbers of shoppers and visitors into Philadelphia. The annual Army-Navy football game, which was often played in the city that weekend, added to the crowds. Police faced severe traffic, packed sidewalks and long shifts.

A surviving 1966 account published in The American Philatelist described “Black Friday” as the name the Philadelphia Police Department had given the Friday after Thanksgiving. The account said the day officially opened the Christmas shopping season in Center City and brought major traffic jams and overcrowded sidewalks.

That contemporary description is important because it shows the shopping-related name already in use before the later retail explanation about accounting profits became popular.

Why people say retailers went “into the black”

A widely repeated explanation says Black Friday earned its name because holiday sales moved retailers from losses, traditionally recorded in red ink, to profits, recorded in black ink. The accounting expression itself is real, but historical accounts place the Philadelphia crowd-and-traffic usage earlier than this retail-friendly explanation.

As Black Friday became more nationally recognized in the 1980s and 1990s, the “red to black” story offered retailers a more positive way to explain the name. It became part of the popular story of Black Friday even though it was not the original reason the post-Thanksgiving shopping day was called that.

That later “red ink to black ink” retail story is also reflected intentionally in the visual identity of BlackFriday.us. Our logo uses the contrast between red and black as a nod to the familiar idea of retailers moving from losses into profitability. We use that symbolism as part of the brand while keeping the history straight: it is a later explanation of Black Friday, not the origin of the shopping-day name.

Black Friday grew from one busy day into a shopping season

For many years, Black Friday centered on stores opening early on the Friday after Thanksgiving and advertising limited-time promotions. As competition increased, opening times moved earlier, promotions expanded, and online shopping became a much larger part of the event.

Black Friday is now less confined to one morning or even one weekend. Retailers commonly run promotions before Thanksgiving, throughout Black Friday weekend and into Cyber Monday, with additional holiday deals continuing into December. That makes the name “Black Friday” as much a shopping concept as a single date.

What the history means for shoppers today

The history of Black Friday explains how a crowded post-Thanksgiving shopping day became a national retail tradition. It does not mean every Black Friday promotion is automatically a strong value. Shoppers still need to compare the exact product, model or variant, check the real selling price and understand shipping and return terms.

That is also the idea behind BlackFriday.us. The traditional event happens once a year, but good-value shopping opportunities appear throughout the calendar. Our year-round Friday Drop takes the familiar Black Friday idea and applies it more broadly: every Friday can be a reason to look carefully for worthwhile offers rather than waiting for one shopping weekend in November.

Sources and further reading

• HISTORY: What’s the Real History of Black Friday?
• American Dialect Society archive: 1966 Philadelphia “Black Friday” account

Learn how to judge whether a Black Friday deal is actually good or compare Black Friday with Cyber Monday.