Black Friday falls on the Friday after the American Thanksgiving holiday and traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. Many major retailers run huge sales promotions.
Around a hundred people queued in front of Salih Burhan's electronics shop in Erbil's famous Kotri Salam bazaar that announced discounts of up to 80 percent on high-end items like laptops, smartphones, and televisions.
Burhan said within three hours he sold 75 percent of his stock, amounting to $55,000.
"[The discounts] were put on all electronic devices, especially laptops and accessories. For example, this product, a laptop, would sell for $895 on normal days, but on Black Friday, it is discounted to $495. For example, this laptop's original price is $695, but today the price is $475," Burhan explained.
Zakaria Nashwan came from Mosul in search of a deal.
"I have come from Mosul for the Black Friday discounts. I came a day earlier in order to be able to purchase my favorites. I queued since 5:30 am in front of the shop and their prices were half of their original value," Nashwan said.
Yousif Saed also came to Kotri Salam bazaar, hoping to buy a laptop.
"I have come here to buy a laptop because their prices are indeed very good," Saed said.
Another shopper, Arez Aziz, was determined not to miss out on the once-a-year bargain prices.
"I bought some items. When I saw the discounts, I said I must buy a laptop," Aziz said.
Customers in Kurdistan can also shop international Black Friday deals online, thanks to courier services providing direct shipping to the Region.
"We have made shipment of goods from the US to the Kurdistan Region free of charge. We do not make any profit from the shipments. They [customers] receive their items for the very same prices announced on the websites in the US," Khiyam Fathi, manager of a courier company in Erbil, told Rudaw.
"Last night, we checked our system and noticed that people at 2 am and 3 am had placed orders in our system. We have clients that placed up to 60 orders between 1 am and 5 am. This is a testament that they found our offers very satisfactory,” Fathi added.
