Black Friday is more than just elbow-to-elbow Christmas shopping. Black Friday can be fun, dangerous, interesting, unusual, cheap, shocking – many different things! We’ve put together the most interesting information about this special day – find out more about Black Friday!
Name “Black Friday”
Why Friday should be clear. This special day falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on Thursday. But why black? There are two theories about the origin of the name “Black Friday”.
First, the term came from Philadelphia, where it was first used in the 1960s due to the crowds on the streets the day after Thanksgiving. Like, the people were black and black.
However, the more popular theory refers to the day when shopkeepers were making big profits, which in English sounds like “being in the black” means to be in the black.
Deadly Black Friday
Unfortunately, Black Friday also has a dark side. As you know, on this day there are many incidents, including the death of innocent people.
The famous Black Friday case in 2008, when a crowd of customers tired of waiting in front of a store broke down the door and trampled a 34-year-old employee to death. Many similar incidents have occurred in the past: buyers fought, shot at each other, and stabbed each other with knives. Turns out Black Friday isn’t exactly a harmless day.
Unfortunately, there are many such cases. For example, in 2019, a fight between buyers led to a shooting in the food court of the Destiny USA mall in Syracuse, New York. The mall was locked down for several hours until shoppers and staff were released.
Popularity
Black Friday is very popular in the USA. Did you know that in almost half of the US states this day is a day off? This obviously means big crowds and lines.
In 2012, Black Friday broke the record for buyers and total spend. Can you guess the numbers? Over the weekend that began on Black Friday, more than 247 million people went shopping and spent nearly $ 60 billion. Black Friday itself was amazing too, with over 89 million Americans shopping that day.
What do they buy
Black Friday marks the official start of the holiday shopping season and the profits generated from sales during this period are incredible. Research has shown that the average person plans to spend around € 550 during the holiday season. What is the money spent on?
- for gifts for the family – a little more than 300 €,
- for gifts for yourself – almost 100 €, food and sweets – 70 €,
- for gifts to friends – a little over 50 euros.
Hours of operation
For a long time on Black Friday, shops opened at 6 am. However, in the new millennium, new habits have emerged – some shops opened at 4 am. And many shops have been opening at midnight for several years now.
In contact with
Black Friday has a worst enemy – Cyber Monday. This term was coined by marketing experts who wanted to attract as many shoppers as possible to their online purchases. Cyber Monday takes place every year after Black Friday. And of course it keeps people from spending all their money on Black Friday.