Black Friday is traditionally the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States (the fourth Thursday of November). Since the early 2000, it is the day regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. The term “black” to describe the day originated in Philadelphia when shoppers disrupted traffic on that day, however an alternative explanation is that retailers who traditionally operated at a loss (“in the red”) from January through November  turned a profit on this day, meaning they went “in the black”. No, it did not originate from sales of slaves on the day after Thanskgiving as some people continue to believe.

2015 is  no exception to the euphoria and excitement of the day as shoppers shop till they drop, gathering at Times Square in New York in a frenzy so that they can be the first to catch the bargain buys! Last year, spending was at $50.9 billion during the 4-day Black Friday and that was 11% down from the previous year, noting a drop since 2008.

This year, despite the chronic recession, Black Friday – like Halloween – has reared its head in Greece with select multinational department stores offering their products at cheap prices.

Of course, online purchases are growing with Amazon offering an additional 7,000 deals at lucrative prices so that shoppers don’t need to nudge and push and injure themselves for that killer deal. Online purchases are available from midnight (US local time) or 7 a.m. Friday (Greek time).

Smart tips

Check for designer items

For named brands, Black Friday is the best time to buy as you can purchase items that you’ll have for many years  to come.

Start early

The early bird catches the worm on Black Friday, hence the earlier you get there, the more chances you have of securing a bargain deal.

Set priorities

Think ahead of time regarding what you need to buy and limit yourself to your wish-list. It’s a day of bargains, but best not to waiver off course and end up regreting that cheap deal that proves ultimately useless.

Don’t spend all your money

Shopping specialists advise that, contrary to popular belief, Black Friday isn’t really the best time to find designer clothes. The best time for fashion shopping is actually August, September and January. Hence, spend 40% of your budgeted spending to find the best offers.