Local retailers are holding Black Friday sales today, offering discounts and promotions as part of an American tradition that has caught on here in recent years.

Department store Robinsons and furniture retailer Courts are latching on to the occasion for the second time, following strong sales during the event last year.

Black Friday, coined to describe the chaos caused by shoppers as they take advantage of the first holiday sales, is celebrated the day after Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November.

At Courts, shoppers can expect discounts of up to 90 per cent at its online store and 15 brick-and-mortar outlets. Its online store is also offering deals on Cyber Monday - the Monday after Thanksgiving when online sales are expected to peak.

Courts chief executive Terry O'Connor said sales more than doubled those of a typical Friday for last year's event. "The promotions are part of our mission to... deliver even more value to our customers, and give them something to cheer about as the festive season approaches."

The three Robinsons stores are offering discounts of up to 80 per cent from today to Sunday.

The bulk of the Black Friday sales here are offered by online retailers like Zalora and Qoo10, with some brick-and-mortar retailers sitting out. Department store Isetan, for example, is holding its own campaign by offering a 10 per cent discount to its card members this weekend. Said its sales promotion manager James Che: "Instead of an umbrella event for the public, we'd like to give more privileges to our card members to keep them loyal to us."

Electronics retailer Harvey Norman will hold in-house promotions to coincide with the ongoing Sitex IT show.