Everything You Need To Know About Black Friday 2024

Retail’s biggest day will be here before you know it, and we’re preparing for Black Friday by painstakingly researching and reviewing top tech products, tracking prices, and throwing down the best deals. But if you’ve never gone through the whole BF experience, you might have questions about how it works and how to make it work. Well, we’ve got answers.

What Is Black Friday?

Widely regarded as the first official day of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday comes on the day after Thanksgiving every November. The Black Friday tradition began in the 1950s, with newspapers using it as a pejorative to describe the traffic from the holiday weekend. It wasn’t long before people started noticing that retail sales were also up that day, and by the 1980s, it was in use across the country, with the “black” now describing the black ink of a positive ledger.

After the dawn of e-commerce, retailers also started using “Cyber Monday” to refer to the first Monday after Thanksgiving, but for the most part, those online sales have shifted over to Black Friday and often continue through the weekend. The tradition has spread to many countries worldwide with little tweaks. In the United Arab Emirates, they call it “Yellow Friday,” while in Wales, it’s called “Dydd Gwener y Gwario Gwirion” (Silly Spending Friday).

When Is Black Friday 2024?

Black Friday will hit this year on November 29, 2024. It’s unusually late in the month, so the holiday shopping season will be a bit shorter than normal (unless you start shopping early). There is only one Black Friday during the year, but Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Thanksgiving Weekend, and Cyber Monday are often referred to in the retail industry as “The Turkey 5,” so you’ve got access to at least five days of massive sales going on.

OK, But When Specifically Do Black Friday Deals Start?

This is going to depend on the retailer, but you won’t be surprised to know that “official” Black Friday price drops usually start before your Thanksgiving dinner is over. Amazon, Best Buy, and the like typically start sales on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (November 27th), with others getting started even earlier on Monday (November 25th). Some even set up landing pages on the first of November. Of course, we’ll see so-called “Early Black Friday Deals” all throughout November leading up to the main event.

Where Should I Shop On Black Friday?

Online! In general, larger stores are going to be able to offer lower prices due to the economy of scale, but smaller companies do play along. We’ll be watching Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target Black Friday Deals, along with manufacturer outlets like Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Heck, there’s even sales on streaming services like Hulu and Peacock on Black Friday!

What Time Do Stores Open on Black Friday?

It’s the Internet! Online stores are always open! Most online Black Friday sales begin at midnight on their specified days, but this can vary. If you feel like battling the throng at a brick-and-mortar location for so-called “door-busters,” many major retailers set special early access holiday hours for the sale. Target, Walmart, and Best Buy locations will all open at 6AM on November 29. It’s important to check in advance with stores you’re planning to hit early to make sure they are participating, though.

Does Amazon Do Black Friday?

Amazon does every possible sale. They’re totally on board for Black Friday. They have a landing page all ready to be populated with deals as the event draws closer, and we’d expect to see big savings on popular products like TVs and game consoles. Nintendo Switch hardware and games are expected to see doorbuster discounts in advance of the holiday season, and PS5 fans will see the same.

Does Apple Do Black Friday?

Apple hosts its own Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals events both in their physical stores and online. You can expect nice discounts on some of their most popular products, including iPads, AirPods, Apple Watches, and more. We already know that Apple products can get pricey, so if you’re doing your holiday shopping early, Black Friday is the time. One caveat: you’re not likely to find the newly-released 10th-generation iPad or iPhone 16 on sale yet.

And if you want to get an early start on all things Apple, check out:

Does Walmart Do Black Friday?

Yes, they do. The largest private employer in the world goes big on Black Friday, knowing that it can make or break the holiday season. They’ve already announced some of the details on their sale, which starts on November 11 and extends through Cyber Monday. Walmart is splitting their sales into a pair of events, followed by a stand-alone Cyber Monday. The first event starts on the 11th for online deals and the 15th for in-store deals; the second, the 25th for online and the 29th for in-store. We’d expect the second wave to have the deepest discounts, but we’ll keep a close eye on both. Walmart+ members get early access. They’re also beta testing a generative AI-powered shopping assistant, so that could be fun.

Does Target Do Black Friday

Do you think we’re going to say no? Target also announced how they’re going to handle the biggest shopping weekend of the year. They updated their FAQ page with a brief note stating that their main Black Friday sale will begin on Thanksgiving, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday. If you don’t want to wait, they’re also launching an Early Black Friday event starting on Thursday, November 7 and ending on Saturday, November 9th. Target also offers a Holiday Price Match Guarantee, where they match the lowest price at Target on items purchased between Thursday, 11/7 and Tuesday, 12/24.

Is Everything On Sale On Black Friday a Good Deal?

That’s a nope, friend. While many retailers exercise some level of oversight to ensure that they only sell the good stuff, others do not. Marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart that allow third-party sellers to use their platform can sometimes bring you stuff that looks great on the screen and stinks when it gets to your doorstep. Reviews can help give you more information, but even those can be compromised.

We put together a primer on how to avoid Black Friday scams that has useful advice on products to avoid, determining how good a discount really is, timing your purchases, and doing your research. It’s definitely worth reading before you spend a dime.

What Black Friday Deals Can We Expect?

It’s undeniable that Black Friday is one of the most popular shopping days of the year, and retailers drop prices to encourage it. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the prices you’ll see are the lowest of the year. Many of the products we cover can be quite volatile depending on the whims of the market. Sometimes, we’ll even see discounts before the day that are deeper than what you get on Black Friday.

We’ve put together a guide on reasons to shop and not shop on Black Friday, and it’s worth reading. In general, we advise you to keep an open mind, make a list in advance of products you’re interested in, and compare prices across different retailers to find the best offers. Use our deals page to track pre-BF sales and grab things you’re interested in.

About K. Thor Jensen

Contributing Writer

K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.

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