What Is Black Friday?
Let me explain Black Friday directly to you: it's the day right after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. This day has become synonymous with special shopping deals and discounts, effectively kicking off the holiday shopping season. Retailers push out massive promotions, and the sales data from this day often signals the overall economic health of the country. Economists like me look at these figures to gauge consumer confidence in discretionary spending—lower sales might hint at slower growth ahead.
Understanding Black Friday
You need to know that Black Friday is viewed as the critical start to the holiday shopping rush for retailers. In the buildup, stores advertise huge discounts on items like electronics, toys, clothing, and gifts. It's also tied to Cyber Monday, the following Monday when online deals peak as people return to work. Retailers open early, sometimes even on Thanksgiving night, to draw in crowds. Dedicated shoppers might camp out or skip family dinners to snag deals, leading to a sales spike that lasts through the weekend.
Black Friday and Retail Spending
Retailers plan their Black Friday strategies for the entire year, using it to clear overstock and offer doorbuster deals on high-demand items like TVs and smart devices. These promotions aim to pull you in, hoping you'll buy higher-margin products too. Ads are kept under wraps until the last minute to build anticipation. However, the frenzy can turn chaotic—there have been incidents of violence over limited stock, like stampedes for toys or even tragic accidents in stores.
The Surprising Origins of Black Friday
The roots of Black Friday go back decades before it became a shopping phenomenon. Retailers have long used the day after Thanksgiving for sales, capitalizing on employees having the day off. The name ties to accounting—'black' for profits in black ink versus red for losses, meaning retailers aim to turn profitable for the year. But originally, in the 1950s, Philadelphia police used 'Black Friday' to describe the overwhelming crowds from shoppers, tourists, and events like the Army-Navy game, forcing long shifts. It spread as slang among salespeople before going national in the 1990s with positive marketing spins.
The Evolution of Black Friday
Black Friday transformed in the 2000s from crowded streets to high-stakes shopping battles over parking and hot items. It overtook the Saturday before Christmas as the biggest shopping day, with deeper discounts pulling in massive crowds. By 2011, stores like Walmart started sales on Thanksgiving evening, extending it into a full weekend event. In 2022, nearly 197 million U.S. consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving-to-Monday period, spending an average of $325 per person, much of it on gifts but also self-purchases.
Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday
While Black Friday focuses on in-store and overall deals, Cyber Monday targets online shoppers returning to work after the holiday. Started in 2005, it offers major web promotions to rival brick-and-mortar sales. In 2022, Black Friday saw 87 million online shoppers compared to 77 million on Cyber Monday, though Black Friday edges out in total online volume. There's also Small Business Saturday to support local shops amid the big retail push.
The Economic Significance of Black Friday
Economists monitor Black Friday as a pulse on retail health and consumer confidence, though some downplay its predictive power for broader markets, seeing only short-term stock effects. Holidays like this can boost trading activity due to the 'holiday effect.' In 2023, Black Friday falls on November 24—mark it if you're tracking spending trends.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is Black Friday in 2023? It always follows Thanksgiving, so in 2023, it's November 24.
- Why is Black Friday important to economists? It serves as a gauge for consumer confidence and future discretionary spending.
- When did Cyber Monday start? It began in 2005 as an initiative by the National Retail Federation's online division.
The Bottom Line
In summary, Black Friday has solidified as the holiday shopping kickoff, with retailers offering deep discounts that economists analyze for economic insights. You can see it as both a consumer opportunity and a key indicator of spending health.
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