Everyone knows what Black Friday is — the unofficial start of holiday shopping. Every year it seems like stores open earlier and earlier Friday morning, and now it has even become common for stores to open on Thanksgiving evening. The savings have even extended to online retailers with Cyber Monday and local businesses with Small Business Saturday — but how and when did this all start?
Before Black Friday was known as Black Friday, it was a common trend for workers to call off the Friday after Thanksgiving in order to have a four day weekend. In the late 19th century, it was an unwritten rule that retailers would not advertise their holiday deals until after Thanksgiving because that was the official start of the holiday season. The department store Macy’s is credited as one of the first stores that began advertising sales after Thanksgiving day in 1924. Because so many people took the day off from work, it was the perfect time to begin holiday shopping — and retailers knew that and used it to their advantage.
On the day after Thanksgiving in 1951, large crowds of people came into Philadelphia for the Army-Navy Football game, creating traffic jams and chaos. Instead of being able to take the day off, the police officers had to work longer in order to control the crowds. They called all of the chaos from the day — you guessed it: Black Friday.
By 1961, the phrase Black Friday caught on in Philadelphia, and local merchants even tried changing the name to “Big Friday” to avoid any negative connotation.
The American Philatelist was the first magazine to use the phrase Black Friday in print in 1966. By the 1980s, the phrase was popular across the nation, and the Friday after Thanksgiving has officially been known as Black Friday ever since.
Walmart Black Friday ad, 1989
While the savings can be great, some people believe that Black Friday has changed significantly and is not worth the hassle anymore. Many retailers begin their Black Friday deals days before Black Friday, and sales are often extended to the week after, which reduces the urgency to shop in the early hours of Friday morning. Some even call Black Friday dangerous, due to fights breaking out over doorbusters, and it’s debatable if it is fair for the retail workers that have to miss out on Thanksgiving dinner due to work.
However, these arguments have definitely not stopped people from shopping. According to Adobe Analytics, last year’s Black Friday brought in a record $6.22 billion dollars in online sales alone.
Whether you decide to do your holiday shopping in a mall or on your couch, the weekend after Thanksgiving is undoubtedly a great time to save money and receive some pretty great deals. If you do decide to go out and shop, just remember to be kind to the employees and be safe — after all, it’s just a sale.
For a list of deals for Black Friday 2019, click here.
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Edited by Sydney Keener