Big lines, free shipping and great deals on the best products are what makes Black Friday known on the American market. The Friday after Thanksgiving is when millions of buyers come into the stores all across the world. Costumers get huge lines to try to save on their Christmas shopping or get the best electronics. To get all the details and curiosities about it here’s Black Friday: the history behind the date.
The history behind the name
Before it becomes the selling date, the history of Black Friday term was used in different contexts. First on September 24, 1869, when two Wall Street speculators started a big scandal during Ulysses S. Presidency. Grant Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the gold market on that date. They bought large amounts of bullion to drive up the price on purpose. With this, they would leverage their relationship with Grant’s brother-in-law to get him to limit its availability. The president’s policy was to sell Treasury gold at weekly intervals. And that’s what happened. He ordered the U.S Treasury to sell more gold. This made the gold market collapse and the entire market fall dramatically as a result. Because of the disaster for many investors, it became one of the “Black Fridays” in history.
After that, back in 1950’, Philadelphia police used the term to describe the chaos on the streets after Thanksgiving. The city used to be crowded with tourists and shoppers every year by this time. All of this because of the big Army-Navy football game on Saturday. Then, the police started referring the day between the holiday and the game day as “Black Friday”.
Retailers weren’t happy about it, so they tried to rename the day as “Big Friday”. However, since the term didn’t stick they found a way to reinvent Black Friday in the late ’80s. They tried to turn it into a positive event, for them and for their customers. The day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America’s stores finally turned a profit. The date, that used to be traditionally on a Saturday before Christmas has changed through the years.
Thanksgiving Parades
In that way, the day after Thanksgiving became the popular start of the holiday shopping season. This is also linked with the Santa Claus parades. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many department stores used to sponsor Santa and Thanksgiving Day parades. By that time, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was very popular in the U.S. and stores would use the parades to launch big advertising pushes. Eventually, it just became an unwritten rule that no store would try doing Christmas advertising before the parade was over. With more than 44 million people watching it on television every year, the parade is still a thing in the country and can also be seen on YouTube.
Black Friday Nowadays
Black Friday lines seem to be not so annoying like would be in the rest of the year. It’s almost like an adventurous experience. People print the maps of the stores, study them and make strategies to get that product they really want.
In 2009, a worker died after being trampled by shoppers on Black Friday. After that, the company started working with crowd management experts and local law enforcement to keep everyone safe. Marshal Cohen, a retail analyst with the NPD Group, says that the chaos is because of the missing out fear. This happens because people want to find the best deals they don’t know yet at the stores.
E-commerce
Even though many shoppers prefer going to the stores, there are still many who prefer shopping online. With the increase in e-commerce, it is possible to get all the best sales even a month earlier. Before 2018’s Black Friday, one survey showed that 60% of the 2,000 people would skip going to the stores. Most of them preferred to take advantage of free shipping deals.
In fact, stores are investing more and more in e-commerce. In that way, people can make Black Friday purchases from the comfort of their home. Deals, coupons, and cash back are the best for this time. To join the online shoppers this year and get the best deals, make your purchases through this Black Friday page. You’ll get the best coupons, promo codes and deals first than everybody.
