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First introduced to the UK by Amazon, now a range of retailers such as Tesco, Argos and John Lewis discount prices.

The term first began in the US, where Black Friday follows Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November.

There are plenty of rumours circulating online about how the day of sales first got its name - but which one is true?

Black slaves were sold at a discount.   Toni Braxton posted the pictures to her Facebook page, along with the accompanying caption which claims that "slave traders would sell slaves for a discount to assist plantation owners" when they needed extra help to prepare for winter.

The first documented use of the phrase comes a long time after the slave trade was abolished in the US and so it makes it unlikely that the term originated then.

It hasn't stopped people, especially in the US, to call for a boycott of Black Friday, with some citing the recent protests over the Michael Brown shooting as reason not to take part. Yes, it is true that both in the UK and the US retailers rely on the Christmas season to make much of their yearly profits - and there are plenty of queues on the high street and waits to access online stores.

In 2012, shoppers in the US spent an estimated $59.1bn (£37.6bn) on Black Friday, according to the National Retail Federation.

But because of the deep discounts offered, it isn't clear how much of that is profit and there is no evidence to suggest this is the day where they go "into the black". 

Most retailers in the UK have managed to make the sales to keep in business in all the years preceding the introduction of Black Friday.

Black Friday is a bad day for employers because everyone calls in sick to go shopping.