Origins and Evolution of Black Friday: Get ready to dive into the shopping frenzy because Black Friday is just around the corner! The unofficial kickstart to the Christmas shopping extravaganza is set to lure both online and in-person shoppers, with an estimated 131 million people gearing up for deals that span from the crack of dawn to the cyber realms.
While the holiday shopping season continues to stretch its legs, Black Friday remains a crucial day, showcasing the retail industry’s endurance. However, the origins of this shopping spectacle are far from what the name might suggest. In a surprising twist, Black Friday traces its roots back to 1950s Philadelphia.
Picture this: hordes of suburban shoppers descending upon the city in the days following Thanksgiving. The city, gearing up for the annual Army vs. Navy football game, strategically promoted massive sales and adorned the streets with decorations. The result? A chaotic scene with traffic cops pulling marathon shifts, dealing with flooded sidewalks and streets. It was in the midst of this frenzy that the term “Black Friday” was coined, capturing the mayhem that ensued.
City merchants embraced the term to describe the shopping madness in their stores, and attempts were made to rebrand the holiday as “Big Friday” in 1961. However, the catchy term failed to gain traction.
As the years rolled on, retailers not only embraced Black Friday but also expanded it into a multi-day shopping extravaganza. The stakes were raised in 2003 when store opening times were adjusted, introducing pre-dawn sales. Kmart, Walmart, and Sears kicked off the trend with sales as early as 5 am, marking the year when Black Friday claimed its title as the most profitable shopping day of the year.
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Fast forward to 2011, and Walmart added another twist by opening its doors at 10 pm on Thanksgiving night, extending the shopping spree. The rise of the internet in 2005 gave birth to another shopping holiday: Cyber Monday. Coined by the NRF, this online counterpart mirrored the shopping craze witnessed in physical stores on Black Friday.
Last year, online Black Friday sales hit a record-breaking $9.12 billion, with top items ranging from electronics to exercise equipment. This year, despite economic uncertainties, Adobe predicts online sales to climb by 5.7% year over year to a whopping $9.6 billion. So, brace yourselves for the Black Friday madness, where record discounts and flexible payment methods are expected to fuel robust e-commerce growth!
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Our Reader’s Queries
Where did Black Friday originate for kids?
Black Friday, also called ‘The Day After Thanksgiving’, is said to have started in Philadelphia in the early 1960s. The name comes from the time in the year when retailers start making a profit, going from being in the ‘red’ to being in the ‘black’.
Which country does not participate in Black Friday?
Australia has only recently adopted the concept of Black Friday. This trend is mirrored in numerous other countries, excluding the United States.
Why was Cyber Monday created?
Retailers designed Cyber Monday to boost online shopping. Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation and Scott Silverman coined the term. It was first used in a Shop.org press release titled “Cyber Monday Quickly Becoming One of the Biggest Online Shopping Days of the Year” on November 28, 2005.
Was Black Friday a success?
The online Black Friday shopping frenzy in the U.S. broke records, raking in a whopping $9.8 billion.