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Fortune

Diane Brady

What Black Friday says about the American consumer

Black Friday Target United States

Shoppers look at clothing on display at Target. (Credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg—Getty Images)

Good morning.

Happy Black Friday, a now-global festival of discounts marking the first shopping day of the Christmas season. Following the "busiest Thanksgiving ever," Americans are expected to spend record amounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, according to Deloitte (which also sponsors this newsletter). For the first time, online retailers have displaced brick-and-mortar stores as the preferred way to shop.

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