Black Friday has a pretty ominous sounding name for a day that’s supposed to be about Black Friday sales, and Thanksgiving shopping deals, right? There are many theories concerning the origins of the name. One version credits the Philadelphia police force for coining the term to describe the traffic jams resulting from shoppers seeking Black Friday deals.

Another theory attributes the name to accounting practices that keeps numbers indicating losses in red and ones indicating profit in black. Since “black” Friday indicates the beginning of the most lucrative retail season of the year, it often has the effect of getting companies “out of the red” and “into the black”. For most it just means Christmas parades, thanksgiving sales, Black Friday deals and a reminder of the coming holidays.

Good or bad, the Black Friday or Blitz Day phenomenon is here to stay. The best idea is to be informed and prepared and you could even turn Black Friday into a positive event. Here are some tips on how to outsmart the Black Friday mobs. What are your favourite Black Friday strategies?