Black Friday

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, the fourth Thursday in November. Retailers offer big discounts, and the day is seen as the start of the Christmas shopping season. The term is often explained as the day when shops went 'into the black', or into profit, although it was first used by police in Philadelphia to describe the crowds and traffic on that day.

Black Friday always falls between the 23rd and the 29th of November. It's usually followed by Cyber Monday, with deals aimed at online shopping.

In 2026 it falls on Friday 27 November.

Black Friday in the UK

Black Friday is an American import that took off in the UK in the early twenty-first century, driven by online retailers. It is not a bank holiday. Many shops now run offers for a week or even the whole of November, and a large share of sales takes place online.

Consumer groups advise checking whether a deal is really a bargain, for example by comparing prices from previous weeks. Under UK consumer law you usually have a right to cancel online purchases within a set period, whether or not the item was on sale.