CONSIDERING THAT AUSTRALIANS don’t celebrate Thanksgiving – unless you’re a particularly patriotic American expat or an easily influenced cultural sponge – the whole idea of jumping on the bandwagon and getting involved in the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, seems a bit nonsensical.
But who are we to pass up a good sales event? Especially when it’s an opportunity to do our Christmas shopping for less?
For those that participate, Black Friday will take place on November 29th this year, which is slightly later than usual. But of course, the sales period is not limited to the day itself. Some sales have already begun, most will run right into the Christmas period, and then there’s the second biggest sales day of the season, Cyber Monday, on December 2nd.
Black Friday has surged in popularity in recent years as online shopping has become the preferred method of spend and retail therapy has proved to be just as cathartic in the online realm. To meet this demand, more and more brands are taking part in the festivities with sales varying from minor to massive. So enticing are some of these sales that it can be hard to resist splurging on a new phone, jacket, fragrance, sneakers, jewellery, or in extreme cases, all of the above.
The trick is not to fall for the sales that offer only meagre discounts but are convincing enough that you can justify purchasing something you don’t really need. To help you navigate this year’s Black Friday sales, we’ve rounded up some of the best deals we’ve found.
The best Black Friday menswear sales
Tommy Hilfiger
Calvin Klein
Myer
The Iconic
Nike
Catch
Above The Clouds
Adidas
Wrangler
Under Armour
Nautica
Ben Sherman
The best Black Friday tech sales
Amazon
Bose
Dyson
JB HI-FI
Lenovo
The best Black Friday accessories sales
Myer
Catch
yd.
The best Black Friday sex toy sales
Lovehoney
Womanizer
We-Vibe
Arcwave
The best Black Friday gear sales
Kathmandu
Boating, Camping, Fishing (BCF)
The best Black Friday linen and bedding sales
Bed Threads
Sheet Society
I Love Linen
Hommey
When is Black Friday 2024?
Black Friday is on November 29th in 2024. This is when the majority of shopping will occur, but the sales period will last much longer.
How long do Black Friday Sales last?
Like we said, most Black Friday shopping is done on Black Friday itself, but the sales period typically lasts for five days and can run for even longer. Usually, Black Friday sales begin on Thanksgiving (November 28th this year) and run right up until Cyber Monday (December 2nd). So expect the bulk of sales to take place between November 28th and December 2nd. That being said, some sales will run all the way up until Christmas, and some have already begun.
Why is Black Friday called that?
In Australia, we’d usually only use the word ‘black’ as the prefix for a day if it was marked by catastrophic bushfires. Assuredly, that isn’t the case with Black Friday, as frenzied shopping would be a mind-boggling way to commemorate a tragedy.
The origin of the term ‘Black Friday’ is disputed. Some suggest that the term was coined by factory managers in the 1950s, who gave the name to the Friday after Thanksgiving because so many of their workers would call in sick. Another theory suggests that the name originally carried negative connotations and was used by Philadelphia police and business owners to refer to the chaos that was caused by bargain-hungry shoppers. The most popular theory, on the other hand, posits that Black Friday earned its name because up until the day after Thanksgiving, retailers would frequently operate at a loss and therefore be in the red. The surge in sales thus allowed them to turn a profit and be back in the black.
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