To help you prepare for these major shopping days and make sense of the immense number of sales, we consulted retail experts about the main differences between Black Friday and Cyber Monday - and the types of deals you can score during each one. The main deals, however, occur during what’s popularly known as the “Cyber 5,” which runs from Thanksgiving Day through the Monday after the holiday (some experts consider this five-day period “Cyber Week,” as well). Retailers aren’t confined to hosting sales on a particular day, either: Some Black Friday deals can start as early as October, while Cyber Monday can extend into “Cyber Week” with additional sales, experts told us. With more shoppers turning to online shopping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer limited to in-store or online sales, respectively, as merchants extend in-store Black Friday promotions to their online stores. In recent years, though, the line between the two has blurred. In tandem with the online shopping boom of recent decades, Cyber Monday was introduced as a way for e-commerce retailers like Amazon to capitalize on holiday discounts and, in turn, an excuse for retailers to expand their biggest sales events of the year.

But until recently, it remained a largely brick-and-mortar phenomenon, said Jessica Young, associate director of research at Digital Commerce 360. Black Friday is synonymous with some of the biggest sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, with retailers and shoppers planning for those doorbuster deals after the Thanksgiving leftovers are put away.

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