For history buffs, the phrase “Black Friday” is a bit ironic. Until recently, the term has described bad news for financial markets and retail, but these days it indicates good news. How did the term take a turn?
The History of Black Friday in the U.S.
Financial buffs know Black Friday as the nickname for September 24, 1869 – the day the gold market collapsed as a result of a scandal cooked up by two con artists who were trying to keep a Vanderbilt from cornering the railroad. It’s a complicated but interesting story, and if you’re not going shopping on Black Friday, you can find out more about the original Black Friday through the Ulysses S. Grant American Experience documentary page on PBS.
By the middle of the 20th Century, the gold crisis was quite forgotten and Black Friday was reimagined in Philadelphia to describe the mayhem that would ensue the Friday after Thanksgiving when crowds swarmed to the city to shop and stay overnight for Saturday’s Army-Navy game. As Mother Jones reports, the term was used in Philly all the way back in the 1950s, but it never seemed to catch on as a general retail term until much later.
We’re in the MoneyAt some point over the last 30 years, we all started saying “Black Friday” to refer to the Friday after Thanksgiving. A day when retailers do so well, they find their books “in the black” – or profitable – for the year. The term has gained momentum in the vernacular, and as a particular and very focused retail event over the last ten years. The term is now synonymous with retail success that happens on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Black Friday has become so popular, it has started to creep backwards. At first, retailers tried to get a jump on the day by opening earlier, and now some retailers are opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day, a movement that’s seeing a lot of backlash from workers and shoppers alike – a CNN report notes that opening stores on Thanksgiving doesn’t necessarily boost sales, and it can hurt brand image a bit.
Holiday Retail Sales DaysThere are a number of days around the holiday season that are starting to chip away at Black Friday’s once solid lock on holiday spending:·
The Small Business Saturday campaign has stolen some of Black Friday’s thunder with backing from American Express, which is supporting the day with free advertising for small businesses on Facebook and a $25 credit to AMEX card holders who register and spend on the day.·
Cyber Monday started out as a sort of Monday morning quarterback reaction to shopping where deal-seekers would check the Internet for better prices, then buy online instead of shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. Cyber Monday is now solidly ranked as a top holiday shopping day.·
The United States Postal Service has established a deadline day too – the last day they’ll guarantee packages to arrive before Christmas. FedEx and UPS have similar policies – see all their deadlines here.·
Last-minute shoppers are likely to pack the stores on the Saturday before Christmas. The U.S. version of Boxing Day (returning and exchanging presents the day after Christmas) looks promising too – this year the day after Christmas falls on a Friday when workers are likely to take an end-of-year vacation day to create a long weekend for themselves. The National Retail Federation has created an entire mini-site dedicated to the holiday shopping season – visit the site to get information on key shopping days, holiday spending estimates, and info on running sales and helping employees get through the season.
As shoppers gear up to go out on Black Friday, it’s unlikely they’ll consider the buckling gold market or the streets of Philadelphia, but commerce will be on almost everyone’s mind. Here’s hoping your season will be in the black and that all your shopping and/or selling days are fruitful this year.
