The 15 Funniest Black Friday Memes Of 2022: From Inflation Anxiety To E-commerce Chaos
As of late 2025, the 2022 Black Friday shopping event remains a landmark year, not just for its record-breaking sales figures but for the specific, highly-relatable memes that dominated social media. The year 2022 was a perfect storm of post-pandemic shopping habits, high inflation, and the final, definitive shift from physical store chaos to digital checkout frenzy.
This article dives deep into the funniest, most viral Black Friday memes of 2022, revealing how they perfectly captured the anxiety of the cost-of-living crisis, the regret of overspending, and the nostalgic—yet fading—glory of the traditional doorbuster stampede. While the sales were massive, hitting a record $9.12 billion in online spending, the jokes were even bigger.
The Clash of Eras: Classic Chaos Meets Digital Wallet Anxiety
Black Friday memes have always fallen into two main categories: the chaotic in-store brawls and the personal financial regret. In 2022, a third, more nuanced category emerged: the tension between record-high sales and the highest inflation rate in 40 years.
The memes from this period brilliantly highlighted the cognitive dissonance of consumers desperately seeking deals while simultaneously feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis. This economic backdrop gave the 2022 memes a sharper, more relatable edge than in previous years.
1. The "I’m Just Looking" Lie (The Relatable Shopper)
This meme template, often featuring a character nervously sweating or attempting a disguise, perfectly captured the internal struggle of the average shopper. The intention was to "just browse," but the reality was a cart full of unnecessary impulse buys. The 2022 version often included captions related to buying a specific item like a new gaming console (PS5, Xbox Series X) or a high-end air fryer, only to realize the money was needed for rent or groceries. It’s the universal Black Friday regret cycle in a single image.
2. The Inflation Reality Check (The Price Tag Shock)
Many 2022 memes focused on the perceived lack of genuine deals. With inflation soaring, shoppers felt that a "50% off" tag was merely bringing the price back down to what it should have been pre-pandemic. Templates like the 'Disappointed Fan' or 'Surprised Pikachu' were used to express shock when a supposed doorbuster deal turned out to be a minimal discount, leading to the popular phrase: "The Black Friday deal is just the original price from 2021."
3. The Drake Meme: Saving vs. Spending (Financial Regret)
The iconic Drake meme format, where he disapproves of one thing and approves of another, was a staple of the 2022 Black Friday season. The captions were almost universally focused on financial responsibility:
- Drake Disapproves: Saving money for the entire year.
- Drake Approves: Blowing the entire savings on a 4K TV and a questionable gadget.
This meme encapsulates the immediate, post-purchase remorse that is a core part of the Black Friday experience.
The Digital Revolution: Memes About E-commerce Dominance
The 2022 shopping statistics confirmed what the memes already knew: Black Friday is now an e-commerce event. Adobe Analytics reported a record $9.12 billion in online sales, and more people shopped online (87.3 million) than in-store (81.7 million). This shift generated a new wave of digital-centric humor.
4. The "Server Down" Panic
The new battleground isn't the store entrance; it's the checkout page. Memes featuring characters in distress or panicking were used to describe the terror of a website crashing or a payment failing when the last item in the cart—a highly sought-after electronic or limited-edition clothing item—was about to be purchased. This replaced the old meme of fighting over a physical TV with the modern anxiety of a frozen loading screen.
5. The DoorDash/Delivery Driver Meme (The New Front Line)
While classic memes focused on retail workers bracing for the stampede, the 2022 version shifted focus to the logistics workers. Memes featuring exhausted delivery drivers, overflowing Amazon vans, or the sheer number of shipping notifications in one's inbox became popular. This humor recognized the vital role of the supply chain in the digital shopping frenzy and the pressure on companies like FedEx, UPS, and the United States Postal Service (USPS).
6. The "Cyber Monday is Just Black Friday Part 2" Joke
The line between Black Friday and Cyber Monday has become completely blurred, with sales often starting weeks in advance. Memes of a tired, haggard shopper preparing to face "Cyber Monday" after surviving Black Friday were common. This highlights the fatigue of the extended holiday shopping season, often using popular reaction faces like the 'Squidward Looking Out the Window' template.
Topical Authority: Integrating Viral 2022 Entities
A sign of truly fresh 2022 memes was the integration of other viral events from the year. This crossover humor, known for its high topical authority, made the Black Friday jokes feel incredibly current.
7. The Corn Kid Crossover
The viral sensation "Corn Kid" (Tariq) and his enthusiastic love for corn was a major meme of 2022. Black Friday memes adapted this by replacing "corn" with "deals" or "discounts." For example: "I can't imagine a more beautiful thing... it's corn! (I mean, it's a 70% off deal!)" This immediately dates the meme to the 2022 zeitgeist.
8. The "Westworld" Maze Meme (The Complex Website)
The popular TV show *Westworld* and its confusing maze/puzzle elements were used to represent the overly complicated, glitchy, or intentionally misleading navigation of retail websites trying to hide the best deals. This speaks to the frustration of digital shoppers trying to find the genuine bargains amidst a sea of misleading "sales."
9. The 'Waiting for the PS5' Meme
While the PS5 had been out for a couple of years, 2022 was still a year where finding a console at a reasonable price was a major challenge. Memes featuring a skeleton or an old person waiting patiently for a console to come back in stock were highly popular, symbolizing the prolonged scarcity of high-demand electronics.
The Core Themes: Why These Memes Resonated
The enduring power of the 2022 Black Friday memes stems from a few core, universal themes that transcend the specific deals:
- The Illusion of Savings: The anxiety that the "deal" is actually a trap, perfectly captured by memes comparing the advertised price to the actual value.
- The Worker Experience: Humor that acknowledges the plight of retail associates (often using the 'Spongebob' or 'The Office' templates) forced to work on Thanksgiving or deal with aggressive customers.
- The Bargain Hunter's Pride: Memes showing a shopper emerging from the chaos with a single, prized item, often using the 'Success Kid' or 'Triumphant' templates.
- The Budget Breaker: Jokes about checking one's bank account on Saturday morning, only to find it completely empty, often using the 'Crying Wojak' or 'Distracted Boyfriend' formats.
The Black Friday of 2022 was a transitional period. The memes acted as a collective social commentary, mourning the loss of the physical shopping spectacle while simultaneously laughing at the new, high-stakes game of digital bargain hunting under the shadow of economic uncertainty. They confirmed that while the sales moved online, the human drama—the excitement, the regret, and the chaos—remains the true star of the show.
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