What is Black Friday and Why the Name? 

The day after Thanksgiving marks the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season and the biggest retail sales day in the United States but the day didn't earn the name "Black Friday" until much later. Black Friday has two interesting and relevant meanings where in history it was named after the day where the stock market crashed on September 24th in 1869, which was suspected due to the plummeting of gold prices. On a more contemporary note, Black Friday refers to the day after Thanksgiving or a more appropriate term, Turkey Day where it was traditionally a holiday for many employees. W hen is Black Friday,   you ask? In the past, Black Friday cemented its position in history when retailers urged President Franklin D. Roosevelt to move Turkey Day, which happened to fall on the fifth month to the fourth Thursday as they were fearful that they would go bankrupt due to the short shopping season. Soon, many people began to fake calling in sick the day after Turkey Day to give themselves a four-day weekend. Instead of determining whose pay should be cut, employers decided to list that day as a paid holiday. 

Black Friday initially got a bad rep due to its ominous name and the incidents associated with that day where the American doorbuster had millions of shoppers stampeding and injuring multiple people which also happens till’ this day and is probably on YouTube which made people laugh or watch in horror. Eventually, all the shopping and spending turned that Friday into one of the most profitable days of the year. The fact that accountants use black to signify profit when recording book entries (while red to indicate losses), redefined the name for Black Friday as well as bolstering its reputation as a key driver in their economy. Because of this, retailers adopted the term as a no-brainer method to drive sales and offer deep discounts exclusively on that day in an effort to encourage people to shop.

Look at the Black Friday Frenzy video below on how shoppers go "wild" shopping in Target, USA. 

Is Black Friday 2024 Cancelled?

To put it simply, Black Friday is not actually cancelled. In the light of the ongoing onslaught of Covid-19 all over the world and mostly in the United States, retailers are to take necessary precautions and follow whatever protocols that were set by their respective governments of their countries. While some Americans have taken up resistance by organizing Anti-Mask Riots which happen to occur in malls and some Walmarts, you can be assured that your shopping experience won’t be that affected thanks to the Internet. You can safely avoid the Anti-Mask rioters, Karens , and other people if you’re worried about the risks by going online and participating in those Black Friday Sales. In some ways, this pandemic has saved people from the dangers of crowds and stampedes that were brought about by the Black Friday doorbusters!

But, What about Cyber Monday 2024?

Cyber Monday might seem like the shadow of Black Friday, but don’t let that trick you into thinking the sales that happen on that day are any less noteworthy. While Black Friday sales happen in both physical and online stores, Cyber Monday is purely an online event where retailers push whatever they can to up their profits. Cyber Monday is perfect if you’re picking a little extra something that you might have forgotten during the Black Friday sales. If you think whatever you’re buying on Cyber Monday isn’t something you actually considered or thought about as much during the previous week, you're more likely had a successful Black Friday!

How to Black Friday 101?

Black Friday is the most intensely competitive shopping day of the year, so it goes without saying that it’s also one of the busiest days to shop. With so many mind-blowing Black Friday deals, limited-time sales, and other doorbusters, it is sure to overwhelm everyone even if you are a seasoned shopper! While it may seem daunting, Black Friday can be a challenge for many people to snag the biggest discounts on pricey items before they disappear off the racks. Here are the tips and tricks for you to navigate the storm that is Black Friday.

1. Do your research & prepare a wishlist beforehand

Now you might think you can safely skip out on hassle during Black Friday and get on with your shopping for pricey goods on Cyber Monday instead but this is where you’re wrong! Black Friday is the opportunity for you to snag big-ticket items such as that sweet Samsung 60’ 4K ULTRA HDTV, whereas Cyber Monday is for smaller items normally bought as little treats for yourself and gifts for others. Besides finding the right time to jump the gun, you should also do well to research more on the item you’re looking to buy. The more you know about what you want to buy, the easier it will be to navigate and block out the deafening sound of loud advertising and sucker-punched by lousy deals.

2. Compare prices

A good shopper knows his or her prices and how to compare them. While you may think that discounted Gucci Dionysus bag on YOOX or that amazing LG 49WL95C-W 49-inch Dual QHD Curved UltraWide Monitor with the 20% discount on Shopee, you should consider the possibility that those same items might come with bigger discounts and more amazing offers elsewhere. Who knows, that cute bag could be at 15% off here but can be slapped with a 40% off discount at another store.

3. Early Bird gets the worm... or handbag

With huge sales like these, comes great but limited-time deals and offers often with one of those ticking timers on their websites. They often release doorbuster prices and discounts that maybe start at midnight, or during the day where it would last from 1 to 2 hours. Once you’ve decided what you want to buy, simply scout the best online stores that feature the best deals and wait for the earliest moment to pounce on that opportunity.

4. Sign up to Saleduck Newsletter and Push Notification

Think of Saleduck as a truffle pig, but instead of a pig, it’s a duck that hunts for buried treasure in ways of discount codes, deals, and other awesome promotions. With a plethora of online stores such Lazada, Shopee, Amazon, and more under its wing (pun intended), you are sure to find the hottest deals in a flash which saves you the time and effort of searching for killer deals! If you’re lucky, Saleduck occasionally stocks up on exclusive promo codes that would award you with ridiculously generous discounts which you may have not seen for a hot minute! To further squeeze Saleduck for more of its goodness, subscribe for their push engage and get the best of the best and curated deals from popular online retailers straight into your device. Once subscribed, you will receive deals and steals handpicked by us from brands such as Myprotein, Shopee, and more! No worries, Saleduck doesn't bombard you with emails every day!

5. Smash that checkout button

Nothing hurts as bad as putting off a purchase and then coming back to see that whatever that was sitting in your cart to disappear permanently with whatever awesome discount it was attached to. Save yourself from this kind of retail agony with prudent planning and trust your gut as once you’re sure of your purchase, you should have no last-minute doubts. You might think there might be a next-best-thing, but to quote Michael Scott, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.

Which Retailers to Bust Your Wallet Out on Black Friday Sale?

Ah, smell that? No, not the tempting aroma of leftover pies or turkey. It’s that other scent—the sweet smell of delicious and juicy discounts and deals. Now, you might think to yourself and wonder if Black Friday really is a thing in Singapore, but a simple google search entry of “Black Friday Singapore” will yield you the results and give you an idea as to where you can look for the best deals. While you may be scanning left and right looking for which retailers are dishing out the best Black Friday deals, here is a list of stores that are known to have tantalizing deals!

1. Amazon Black Friday Sale 2024

Amazon has made big waves in the media as of lately. Drama aside, it is also known for their sky-high revenue and profits generated by their Black Friday 2019 Amazon Sale which amounted to a whopping USD2 billion! An Amazon Sale is always worthy of a celebration with many people clamouring to get their hands on tech goods and more with the best discounts. In North America, the Amazon Black Friday Sale is touted as one of the hottest retail destinations to be jam-packed with awesome bordering on insane deals. From tech to beauty and books, you can be sure to expect killer deals on Amazon and coupled with the benefits that come with being a Prime member, you can guarantee you’ll have a highly satisfactory shopping experience!

2. ASOS Black Friday 2024 Sale

ASOS is a large and established British fast-fashion brand aimed towards young adults. Carrying many popular brands such as Nike, adidas, Dr. Martens, Vivienne Westwood, and more. Unlike most fashion brands, ASOS’ home brand items are actually made quite well from organic cotton or just high-quality textiles. ASOS sales are also quite big amongst university students, where they would take advantage of the killer deals and discounts before receiving bags upon bags of ASOS’ signature black and white static-print packaging. Out of all the major deals, you should keep an eye out for the ASOS Black Friday Sale because sure, you get huge discounts and what other retailers won’t try to win you over with discounts but ASOS takes it to another level. During the ASOS Black Friday 2019 Sale , you get discounts as hefty as 40% off a week before Black Friday itself as some sort of warm-up.

3. Lazada Black Friday 2024

Colloquially known as Amazon’s Asian counterpart, Lazada is one of the, if not the top e-commerce platform in Singapore as well as the rest of Southeast Asia. Where else can you get astronomical discounts on electronics and other goods and no, we’re not talking about those half-baked 5% discounts. Major brands such as HP, Samsung, Lenovo, and many others are active on Lazada with their presence maintained by their own respective flagship stores. If you look hard enough, you might discover awesome deals you don’t normally find on their own dedicated websites!

4. Sephora Black Friday Sale

Sephora on Black Friday will have you shed tears of joy but that’s okay because you can simply take advantage of the discounts to get new makeup removing cleansing balms to clean your tear-stained face as well as new mascara from Hourglass or Anastasia Beverly Hills LAsh Brag Mascara in Jet Black to reapply your….well, mascara. With generous discounts floating about in your midst, you can finally take the plunge and finally purchase those big-ticket items in your Sephora Wish List. Maybe it’s a Pat McGrath and Natasha Denona eyeshadow palettes, or even moisturizers or serums from Allies Of Skin, anything is fair game if you’re getting a major discount out of them. With Christmas looming over us, who cares about gift packs at this point. Fill the stockings of your loved ones with full-sized products instead since the Black Friday Sale will make them worthwhile of a haul!

5. Shopee Black Friday 2024 Singapore

If only we’re getting a Black Friday-themed song by Shopee that goes “Pee pee pee” to no end. The next best thing would be the Shopee Black Friday Sale where more generous vouchers are available and ripe for the picking. Similar to Lazada, Shopee also carries a host of major brands not limited to Dyson, Nintendo, iconic furniture brand Fritz Hansen, and many others. While Shopee has perennial deals, you can best bet that Shopee will have better deals on Black Friday! 

6. Zalora Singapore Black Friday Sale

Zalora is no stranger to the realm of e-commerce. If you’ve ever browsed for clothes online or even sifting through images upon images of fashion-related posts on Instagram, you would surely come across an ad from Zalora! Zalora Singapore joins the ranks of Lazada and Shopee of being one of the top e-commerce giants in Southeast Asia. Additionally, if you spend enough time shopping online you would definitely be privy to all the awesome discounts and promo codes that Zalora Singapore has lovingly graced us with. With Black Friday 2024 just around the corner, you can be sure to expect a treasure trove of promo codes that would knock huge chunks off your cart total! It may be an ordinary Friday in Singapore, but go online and it will instantly be Black Friday Singapore 2024  !

Shop Securely on Black Friday

Shopping online sounds fun and exciting until you hear one of your friends had their credit card hacked by hackers via insecure payment gateways or some phishy links. "How do I shop online without any aftermath that could cost me my kidney?", you wonder? Read our blog post about combatting cyberfraud and hacks to not get hacked to get all the right tips for you to shop securely.

Whether you are shopping online on your laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, or perhaps even on one of those Samsung smart refrigerators, be sure to stay protected with the Norton Antivirus now to avoid an even bigger mishap than a pulverized bank account!

Final Moments Before Black Friday Singapore

Turkey Day is all about spending quality time with friends and family. If you’re going to shop until you drop, you better do it right so you can be in the best headspace and mood to return to the most important thing; spending time with loved ones, whether it is getting together for a barbecue or roasting a turkey and introducing your parents, aunties and uncles to Ariana Grande songs and “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. Happy celebrating and most of all, happy shopping!

Written by: Farhan Arif