Black Friday used to be the main event. People camped outside shops, sprinted through doors at dawn and for some, it was less about shopping and more a legally acceptable excuse for a fight.
Fast forward to today, and Black Friday has stretched from one chaotic morning into a vague three week sales fog. Half the deals are the same prices you saw two months ago, only now with a dramatic label. In fact, plenty of shops offer better discounts during other parts of the year, but those don’t come with a catchy name or a YouTube compilation of people tackling each other in the appliance aisle.
Most retailers now use Black Friday to quietly shovel out excess stock, discontinued models and that one sad air fryer nobody bought in spring. The genuine bargains still exist, but you’ll need sharp eyes, a good memory, and possibly a spreadsheet to find them.
So is Black Friday still what it once was? No. It has evolved from a gladiator sport into a mildly disappointing scrolling exercise. The chaos is gone, the magic has faded, and the deals are often just smoke and mirrors. But don’t worry, if you miss out, the same products will probably be cheaper soon anyway.
