Which leads me to believe (with little proof...) that the net result is simply lost profit for those outlets giving these 'deals'. Many of the items would have been bought, either sooner, by those waiting for Black Friday, or later, by those buying for Christmas, or later in the year (or next...). Some purchases made which would not have been, but the 'Black Friday alone' takings are not 'real' figures; they are at the expense of other moments in the year. I may be wrong, but it seems like a bit of 'shooting oneself in the foot', much of the time.