The excitement of fall and apple picking was so yesterday. Stressing over the winter season is in! Welcome to the wonderful wacky holiday that is Black Friday, a national holiday that comes the day after Thanksgiving where America shops ’till they drop. We all know about the crazies who line up to fight over toasters and Victoria’s Secret bras, but do you know the origins and other fun facts of this peculiar holiday?
1. The phrase “Black Friday” was coined by two Philadelphia police officers in 1961 when they noticed the heavy foot and car traffic the day after Thanksgiving. Most of these customers were enjoying their long weekend and getting a start on their holiday shopping. The word “black” comes from the immense amount of profits retailers get on this day, going from in debt, or “in the red,” to profitable, or “in the black.” Around 1975, the term spread around the country and became the craze we all know and talk about today.
2. 58.7% of surveyed Black Friday shoppers planned on getting ahead of the game by shopping on Thanksgiving day.
3. So, how many people is that, exactly? In the same survey, 135.8 million people stated they plan on hitting the shops this weekend, a 4% growth from last year.
4. But not everybody loves Black Friday, workers at stores such as Target and Walmart have petitioned to “save Thanksgiving” and keep stores from opening early, as it is preventing them from spending Thanksgiving with their families.
5. Americans spent $11,400,000 all together on Black Friday in 2014. The average consumer spent $159.55.
6. So why do we have a long weekend, anyway? The first celebration of the beloved Friday after Thanksgiving was in 1951 when the day after Thanksgiving had the highest record of work absenteeism, more people called out of work that day than any other day of the year to get themselves a four day weekend! Thanks to them, we can enjoy a short week every year followed by stuffing our faces and shopping our butts off!
7. The most popular stores on Black Friday are Walmart, Best Buy, Apple, Target, Macy’s and Amazon.
Happy Thanksgiving, collegiettes and may the Black Friday sales be ever in your favor!