On the roads of the United States, it took a lot of work for the police to control the heavy influx of traffic. It was a day right after Thanksgiving Day. So, they called it Black Friday as they had to do more to control the crowd.
It’s important to note that Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the last Thursday of November each year. People travel to big cities to buy gifts for friends and relatives. Hence, massive traffic is seen on roads, and Philadelphia Police had to do more to control the crowd. So, they called it Black Friday. The term has gained immense popularity, and today it’s recognized as a global shopping event. Let’s gain an understanding of when & how Black Friday went global.
National phenomenon
In 1990, retailers in the United States started to offer discounts on Black Friday. They provided significant discounts to attract buyers and sell inventory before Christmas arrival. Hence, they used Black Friday to clear the stock and made it the biggest shopping event in the nation. It was the time when American sellers started associating Black Friday positively.
Global expansion of Black Friday
The idea of Black Friday was strong enough to attract overseas retailers. So, retailers in the UK, Canada, and Australia started to import traditional shopping days from the US and offered significant discounts to customers.
Although Black Friday is a global event, there are some concerns about its consumerist nature as, on this day; people tend to buy things they might not even need.
Today, black Friday is not celebrated for a day only. To satisfy consumer demand, stores open on the evening of Thanksgiving Day, and people continue discounted shopping till the end of Friday & some stores even extend the time.
Shopping trends on Black Friday
The US stands first in the queue, with the average American spending $485 on Black Friday. Average Canadian expenditure of $430 makes it second, and $397 spending by British citizens makes them 3rd biggest nation to celebrate Black Friday.
With the rise of e-commerce around the globe, the shopping trend changed from in-store shopping to online. Cyber Monday is celebrated right after Thanksgiving day to satisfy consumer demands in this sector when online stores/retailers offer significant discounts to buyers. An idea of Cyber Monday is the same as Black Friday. However, it’s directed to satisfy consumer demand in the online shopping industry.
Wrap up
Black Friday is considered an integral part of Thanksgiving Day. Shopping malls and stores offer significant discounts to customers buying products.
The heavy influx of traffic right after Thanksgiving Day took a lot of work for the Philadelphia Police to control. So, they called it Black Friday as they had to do more to control the crowd. The crowd was oriented to buy discounted gifts for friends and relatives.
Shop & store owners took it as an excellent opportunity to get rid of old inventory before they could restock for Christmas. The idea was so impressive that retailers around the globe copied it with local variations.
