The true color of Black Friday

Black Friday no longer lasts just one day. Recently, it has turned into Black Weekend, and even Black Week!

This year, Black Friday falls on November 28, but it will officially begin on the evening of November 27. People are preparing for Black Friday in advance:

• some save some money for purchases,
• some take out a loan or overdraft to buy the products they need at great discounts
• some prepare a shopping list in advance so they can instantly buy their preferred items with just one click
• and others, holding their breath with cards ready, impatiently wait for the discounts to begin.

"Black Friday": how did the term originate?

The term “Black Friday” is actually much older than you might think. It was first used in 1869, when a financial crisis on Wall Street caused panic and major losses. Thus, “Black Friday” was initially associated not with discounts but with an economic disaster.

Decades later, in the 1950s, police officers in Philadelphia used the same name to describe the traffic jams, massive crowds, and citywide chaos that followed Thanksgiving. For them, it was the most difficult working day of the year.

Over time, retailers tried to give the term a positive connotation, and by the 1980s–1990s, it had already become associated with large-scale discounts and shopping. This is how Black Friday became the biggest shopping day in the United States and later around the world.

Online or offline shopping?

In recent years, online shopping has been developing increasingly rapidly. Black Friday is no exception: more than 70% of purchases are made online. Avoiding lines, people prefer to shop at home, in a calm environment. Many believe that in this way, they buy only the items they truly need. In contrast, during offline shopping, people often give in to emotions and purchase products under the influence of discounts—items that, in reality, they do not need at that moment. In other words, the endless lines and crowds in front of stores have, to some extent, already become a thing of the past.

Black Friday 2024: interesting and surprising facts

While researching new facts about Black Friday, we discovered so much interesting information that we decided to share it with you!

1. New records in online sales

In 2024, online sales worldwide grew by more than 9%. The best-selling products were electronics, toys, tableware, and clothing.

2. Amazon’s results

In 2024, Amazon recorded its strongest Black Friday week with total sales exceeding USD 10 billion, and the best-selling items were: wireless earphones, construction toy sets, and personal care products.

3. The unexpected comeback of offline shopping

In 2024, in many countries, people returned back from online shopping to large stores and malls.
Offline sales grew by about 4%, and the largest queues in recent years were registered in major malls of Western Europe.

4. Payment platform records

Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal reported record figures — more than 300,000 online transactions per minute. This was one of the highest indicators in the past four years.

5. Armenia also had record-breaking results.

During Black Friday week in Armenia, online and offline sales reached more than 11 billion AMD, increasing by 11%.

6. The world was buying gifts

Most of the products sold during Black Friday 2024 were purchased as New Year gifts. 70% of surveyed shoppers noted that they made their purchases for holiday preparations.

Shopping is great, but first you need the right card

Taking advantage of Black Friday’s big discounts requires more than desire — you also need the right payment card, one that not only allows you to shop online but also provides additional benefits.

What to pay attention to when choosing a card

Cashback — it’s very nice when part of your spending is returned to you.

Evocabank’s Visa Vision and Evoca Travel Card offer exactly this advantage: on days of big discounts, you can shop and simultaneously receive money back.

Fast card-opening process — online shopping is more convenient when you can open a card and link it in just a few seconds.
Evocabank’s digital cards offer precisely this solution:

• you can get them within seconds via the EvocaTOUCH app and the evoca.am website,
• you choose the currency,
• and you can immediately make payments on any international platform — from WizzAir to Amazon.

Choice options — Evocabank offers a wide variety of payment cards. You can choose cashback cards, travel cards, premium cards, or digital cards. You can explore all cards here.

By the way, an important thing, Black Friday is already at Evoca.

You can make online or offline purchases with an Evoca Mastercard and receive 20% cashback. Don’t have an Evoca Mastercard? Get one right now with a 50% discount and start shopping. And you can find the details of the promotion here.

Big purchases?

If you want to take advantage of major discounts but do not have enough funds, you can choose an Evocabank consumer loan or online overdraft.

The “black side” of Black Friday

As you have seen, Black Friday has many advantages, but there is also a “dark side” that you should be aware of. During this period, fraudsters become more active, trying by various means to steal your banking information.

To avoid them, there are several simple rules that must be followed:

1. Make purchases only from trusted websites
2. Avoid suspicious offers
3. Do not open unknown links
4. Enter your card details only on official pages
5. Enable SMS notifications
6. Research the product and the seller
7. Use a secure internet connection

You can read more about fraud on our blog.

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As a concluding note, we want to share a true, amusing story that happened on Black Friday.
In 2011, at the Walmart in Porter Ranch, California, rumors circulated that the Los Angeles Police Department was searching for a woman who had turned Black Friday into a real mess.

This woman, in order to bypass the endless lines, brought pepper spray with her and began spraying it among the hundreds of people waiting in line. In this way, she managed to move ahead in the queue and make many purchases, taking advantage of the big discounts.
People in line experienced severe coughing and allergic reactions, while the unknown woman calmly completed her shopping.

May this year’s Black Friday be a pleasant, useful, and safe shopping day for you:

• with the right card,
• making the right choices,
• and of course, without pepper spray  😊

XOXO, Your Evoca…