Black Friday: The True Story Behind America's Biggest Shopping Event

Black Friday, the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season in the United States, is a global phenomenon known for massive crowds, doorbuster deals, and record-breaking sales. But the history of this day is far more complex than just retailers moving "into the black" on their balance sheets.

 

Black Friday: The Chaotic Origins - A Tale from Philadelphia

Contrary to the popular myth that Black Friday is named for the day businesses finally turn a profit (go "into the black" from being "in the red"), the term’s real origins are rooted in chaos and traffic control.

The phrase was first widely used in the early 1960s by police officers in Philadelphia. They used "Black Friday" and "Black Saturday" to describe the awful congestion and crowds that flooded the city the day after Thanksgiving. This influx of people was driven by suburban shoppers starting their holiday buying, often coinciding with the annual Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday. Police had to work long shifts to manage the traffic, accidents, and shoplifting that resulted.

By the late 1980s, retailers and merchants successfully rebranded the day. They promoted the "red-to-black" narrative, focusing on the concept of shops turning an annual profit, which definitively cemented the term with its positive retail meaning nationwide.

One2ThreeJewelry Black Friday Sale

The Modern Shopping Spree: How Much Americans Spend

Black Friday remains a cornerstone of the American holiday shopping season, but its focus has dramatically shifted toward e-commerce. Americans are spending billions, and the figures grow almost every year:

• Record Revenue: Black Friday 2024 generated approximately $20 billion in total U.S. retail sales (online and in-store).
• The E-commerce King: U.S. online sales reached a record high of $10.8 billion on Black Friday 2024, marking a significant 10.2% increase from the previous year.
• Mass Participation: An estimated 197 million Americans shopped either in-store or online during the entire Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend in 2024.
• Average Spender: The average amount spent per person during Black Friday in 2024 was around $480.

 

Top Buys 2024: Shoppers primarily focus on:

• Clothing (60% of shoppers in 2024)
• Tech products and Electronics (54% of shoppers in 2024)
• Gifts (48%)

 

Black Friday Jewelry

 

The specific dollar amount Americans spent on jewelry during Black Friday 2024 has not been widely released in general sales reports.

However, available data and trends point to the following:

• Sales Growth Trends
  Percentage Growth (Online): According to one report, online sales of jewelry on Black Friday 2024 surged by 561% compared to an average day in October.
• Overall Category Dynamics
  Key Gift Categories: Reports from Mastercard SpendingPulse and other industry sources consistently noted that jewelry, electronics, and apparel were among the top gift-giving categories.
• Retail Strength: Overall retail sales for jewelry at brick-and-mortar stores (including sales across multiple days) saw growth, confirming that the category was a strong performer throughout Black Friday 2024.

 

Conclusion

While precise expenditure figures for jewelry are unavailable in public summary reports (which typically focus on overall numbers, such as $10.8 billion in total online sales), the trends clearly show that jewelry was one of the most popular and fastest-growing categories during Black Friday 2024.

 

Black Friday Current Trends: Digital Dominance

The "doorbuster" frenzy of physical lines is stabilizing, while digital sales continue to surge.

Mobile First: More than half (55%) of all U.S. online sales on Black Friday 2024 were completed via mobile devices.

Extended Sales: The shopping event is no longer confined to a single Friday. Many businesses are extending Black Friday deals throughout the week, creating a more gradual "Cyber Week" shopping rush that culminates in Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday 2024 surpassed Black Friday in online revenue, reaching $13.3 billion.

New Payment Methods: The "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) option is becoming extremely popular, especially among younger buyers, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to online sales on Black Friday.

AI and Video: Modern trends include the rise of shoppable videos and AI-driven personalization, where tailored product recommendations enhance the online shopping experience.