From Apple jumping in the fray to Abercrombie renaming it “Hot Friday,” you might be surprised.

As many know, more sales than ever began on Thanksgiving this year, in a new phenomenon known as "Gray Friday."

And customers were on board with the 5, 6, and 8 p.m. sale start times...which means this practice is probably here to stay.

Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters

It was the coldest Black Friday in 11 years, which was good for sales of jackets, boots, and other cold-weather gear, according to J.P.Morgan analysts.

The entire four-day period was forecast to be the coldest since 1993 earlier this week, and the driest in more than 25 years, Citigroup analysts said, citing Weather Trends International data.

Lucas Jackson / Reuters

And, holiday shopping conversations rose 22% during the 85 days before Thanksgiving this year vs. the same period in 2012, according to Twitter.

REI has been using the platform to give gift ideas to customers, and will begin tweeting customized video content to users looking for gift suggestions in early December.

"We're not trying to sell quite as much in this medium, as much as respond to our customers and make sure that we are creating an experience and an engagement around things they really care about," Craig Rowley, REI's director of integrated marketing, told BuzzFeed. The appeal is in the real-time interaction with shoppers, he said.

Lululemon has been doing something different too — they started a #NoHumbug campaign on Nov. 24, tweeting a new challenge to their followers to do something nice every day for 30 days, in line with the yoga retailer's community-based ethos. Examples: call your best friend, give your neighbor a hug, and so on.

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