Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: Which day is better for shopping?
In recent years, the distinction between Black Friday and Cyber Monday has all but disappeared, transforming what were once two separate shopping events into a singular, extended retail extravaganza. This evolution began in earnest during the pandemic in 2020 when many brick-and-mortar stores pivoted to online sales, leading to a blending of shopping days. By 2025, the lines between these two major shopping events have become nearly indistinguishable, with retailers launching holiday sales throughout November, making it difficult for consumers to discern when one event ends and the other begins. Despite this merging, savvy shoppers still recognize Black Friday and Cyber Monday as peak days for snagging unbeatable deals on high-demand items like TVs, Apple devices, gaming consoles, and Amazon products, often at prices lower than those found during the October Prime Day sales.
Historically, Black Friday was established as the day after Thanksgiving for in-store shopping, while Cyber Monday emerged in 2005 as a response to the surge in online sales on the Monday following Thanksgiving. The National Retail Federation coined the term to capture the trend of consumers using faster internet connections at work to shop online. Today, however, the “death of retail” has forced both days into the digital realm, making it challenging to differentiate between them. Retailers now offer overlapping deals, so whether one should shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday largely depends on the specific products in question. For instance, while Black Friday typically features more dramatic discounts on TVs, Cyber Monday may present better opportunities for purchasing laptops or other tech items. The general consensus is that consumers should act quickly when they spot a desirable deal, regardless of the day it is labeled under.
As the shopping landscape continues to shift, the concept of Black Friday itself has evolved into a month-long event, with major retailers like Best Buy and Walmart beginning their sales as early as Halloween. In 2025, Black Friday officially falls on November 28, but the sales often start well before that date, with many retailers adopting a “Cyber Week” mentality that extends the shopping frenzy into December. Although Cyber Monday is officially recognized on December 1, unofficial deals begin almost immediately after Black Friday concludes, creating a continuous cycle of sales that shoppers can take advantage of. In this new era of retail, it’s essential for consumers to stay vigilant, compare prices, and make informed decisions to maximize their savings during this dynamic shopping season.
Once two distinct deal shopping days,
Black Friday
and
Cyber Monday
, have basically merged into one massive shopping extravaganza. The lines really began to blur when the world shut down in 2020 and brick-and-mortar stores hosted online sales in lieu of in-person Black Friday events. In 2025, those lines are practically nonexistent. We certainly can’t see them.
While major retailers have been running holiday sales throughout all of November, savvy shoppers know that Black Friday, Cyber Monday, (and the few days surrounding them) still remain two of the absolute biggest shopping days of the year for their ability to reliably trigger record-low prices on big-ticket items (like
TVs
,
Apple devices
,
smartwatches
,
gaming consoles
, and of course,
Amazon’s own devices
)
. That includes discounts that beat Amazon’s massively-hyped
October Prime Day
deals.
SEE ALSO:
Black Friday 2025: Get live updates on the latest sales, doorbusters, and deal drops
Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday — what’s the difference?
Way back in the age of MySpace and AIM — aka 2005 — the National Retail Federation
debuted the term “Cyber Monday”
after realizing that the Monday after Thanksgiving saw a flood of online sales. This was likely due to shoppers using their faster internet connections at work on Monday morning to snag deals, or at least that’s what they credited it to. That, of course, and the fact that online retailers wanted some of that holiday shopping bread, too. Thus, two distinct deal shopping days were born: Black Friday, for those who wanted to shop in stores the day after Thanksgiving, and Cyber Monday, for those who liked shopping from the comfort of their homes.
These days, there’s little —
if any
— real difference between the two due to the alleged ”
death of retail
.” Everyone and everything is online, so why wouldn’t
Black Friday
be? Based on our years of experience covering both, we can truly say neither is a “better” day to shop. It really comes down to what you’re looking for and how much demand there is for it.
Are there better deals on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
If you see a solid deal, grab it, no matter which sale title it falls under. There’s not a tremendous amount of distinction anymore in terms of discounts on particular products as there has been in previous years. However, there are still rules to follow
in some product categories:
TV deals
tend to be more dramatic and widespread for Black Friday with a higher likelihood of selling out before the clock even turns to Cyber Monday, while waiting for Cyber Monday to double-check that there’s not a new, better laptop deal is often wise.
But with the blurred lines of Cyber Week, many of these deals will cross over. As noted at
BlackFriday.com
, “Some TV deals will feature flashy discounts during Black Friday
and
Cyber Monday, but they might not have the specs you’re after.” TL;DR: The deals will be great for both shopping days, but it all depends on what you’re looking for. If you see the specs you like listed under a product sitting at a price that you like, grab it to be safe. Also, as a best practice, check
camelcamelcamel.com
for price history details from Amazon.
How long is Black Friday?
It’s honestly silly at this point to even call it Black Friday. It’s no longer just on Friday — it’s a month-long affair. In 2025,
Best Buy
kicked off the holiday shopping season on Halloween (scary, I know).
Walmart
and
Target
followed close behind, with their first Black Friday sales events kicking off in early November.
Amazon
and Best Buy’s official Black Friday sales will run from Nov. 20 through Black Friday proper, which falls on Nov. 28 this year.
Once the clock strikes midnight at the close of Friday, it’s officially Cyber Monday (yes, even though it’s actually Saturday). We don’t make the rules. The deals won’t change too much, but the search terms and official site banners will.
When do Cyber Monday deals start?
Officially, Cyber Monday starts on Monday, Dec. 1 in 2025.
Unofficially
, it basically starts the second Black Friday ends, with retailers coining sales as “Cyber Monday” deals as early as Saturday, Nov. 29. So basically, semantics — and it’s easier to just think of the Cyber Week language as interchangeable.
