Every year Black Friday helps businesses get back in the red, along with guiding shoppers into finding the right gifts on their holiday lists. Black Friday originated in the 1950s as a term used by the police in Philadelphia who would see an uprising of crime due to thousands of tourists coming to the city to attend the Army/Navy football game and also go on spending sprees at stores. As of 2005, Black Friday seemed to find a competitor, Cyber Monday.

Cyber Monday was created from the idea that people would come back from Black Friday shopping sprees and see the deals online and with the convenience of a simple click they could purchase items. But on which day is it better to purchase your items? If you are looking to go on a large shopping spree in which you buy every deal you see, then Black Friday would be a better day to buy.

Major retail stores such as Walmart and Target tend to have their biggest sales in store on Friday with a much larger supply of goods. It is also much easier to get help from employees in person than online. “I prefer Black Friday because it generally has lower prices and has sales on everything excluding technology,” senior Owen Uedomi said.

Although Black Friday does have its own benefits, Cyber Monday has its own unique aspects in which it is much better than its counterpart. For one, no risk of injury or death. Black Friday is notorious for bringing out the worst in the American people and according to a New York Times article by Michael Kaplan, from the years of 2006 through 2018 there have been 109 documented injuries and 11 deaths on Black Friday. Aside from the safety aspect, Cyber Monday also has better deals on all technology products, which are typically used as gifts for family and friends around the holidays.

Cyber Monday is also a great time to buy somewhat older technology.Since the promotion of the new tech on Black Friday, all the old technology is left on the shelves to be heavily discounted just three days later. “Usually the technology deals are a lot better and the cyber monday sales tend to last the whole week,” senior David Horcasitas said.

Despite the fact that Black Friday consistently has better retail deals than Cyber Monday, Cyber Monday has historically been better for the average consumer saving them more money on gifts for the holidays or their own upgrades for their lives. “I think Cyber Monday is great because I am able to spend my money on things I’ve been waiting for all year at a major discount,” senior Nikhil Bakshi said.