Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday occurs between the 23rd and the 29th of November.
Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees have the day off, which increases the number of potential shoppers. Retailers often decorate for the Christmas season weeks beforehand. Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1960s.
The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).
The news media frequently refer to Black Friday as the busiest retail shopping day of the year, but this is not always accurate. While it has been one of the busiest days in terms of customer traffic, in terms of actual sales volume, from 1993 through 2001 Black Friday was usually the fifth to tenth busiest day. In 2002 and 2004, however, Black Friday ranked second place, and in 2003 and 2005, Black Friday actually did reach first place. The busiest retail shopping day of the year in the United States (in terms of both sales and customer traffic) usually has been the Saturday before Christmas.
In many cities it is not uncommon to see shoppers lined up hours before stores with big sales open. Once inside, the stores shoppers often rush and grab, as many stores have only a few of the big draw items. On occasion, injuries and even fatalities are reported; in 2008, a worker at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, New York was trampled to death by shoppers who broke through the store's glass doors minutes before the store's scheduled opening at 5:00 am; a pregnant mother was hospitalized from injuries in the same human "stampede", though early reports of a resultant miscarriage were determined to be in error. And in Palm Desert, California two people shot each other after arguing over an item in a Toys R Us store.
Electronics and popular toys are often the most sought-after items and may be sharply discounted. Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. The local media often will cover the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began lining up at various stores and providing video of the shoppers standing in line and later leaving with their purchased items. Traditionally Black Friday sales were intended for those shopping for Christmas gifts. For some particularly popular items, some people shop at these sales in order to get deep discounts on items they can then resell, typically online.Pretty interesting. The injuries and fatalities are a bit worrisome though. I don't recall any special sales in Manila that resulted in injuries or death. But then again, there have been a lot of stampedes that resulted in fatalities so I suppose you can say we've also had our share of wasted deaths. Anyway, I suppose Black Friday is the newest thing I learned this week.
So, how was your Thanksgiving?
1 comment:
Yeah, Black Friday is notoriously the busiest shopping day of the year. I flat out refuse to go out that day. The traffic and crowds just aren't worth it. The rest of the weekend tends to be just as busy.
The incidents that made it into the news are not as common as it may sound by the news accounts, and the two deaths that occurred in Palm Desert weren't related to Holiday shopping, but are believed to be an outside fight that was brought inside the store.
Still, it sickens me that someone's life was snuffed out that day over big-ticket discounted electronics! People are so greedy that they'd trample a person to death for a cheap TV? Sickening and appalling. Those people should ALL be arrested and jailed for their part in it.
I can think of only two other incidents in my life that were remotely similar...and that was one in the 1980's when Cabbage Patch dolls were all the rage, and shoppers went berzerk for them and a woman ended up getting her leg broken in the crush. Another time was a fight that broke out in a parking lot of a WalMart over their 'place' in the long line that wrapped around the store trying to get in to get a discounted Xbox. Such behavior on the part of the "me first" people in such lines is reprehensible in my estimation and is totally contrary to what Christmas is really about. It was never about greed and fighting over sale items in retail stores...it was the celebration of Jesus' birthday...a simple day of sweet remembrance and celebration of God's great love for us...the greatest gift of all, Jesus! It's been hijacked and commercialized by the retail industry. It's shameful how far from the original celebration it has gone.
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