Why is Black Friday called "Black Friday"?
It’s Black Friday Month here on Masksheets. As many of you may already know, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in which many shoppers can find some of the biggest sales and deals of the year from various retailers. But what exactly does Black Friday mean and when did it all start?
The Origins of Black Friday:
The story behind the Black Friday we know it today is believed to have come from the idea that many people would call off work sick the day after Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday every November) so that they can enjoy a four day weekend and get a head start for holiday shopping rather than scrambling to shop during December. Rather than determining who was legitmately sick, many businesses gave their employees an extra paid day-off.
In the 1950s, Philadelphia police used the term “Black Friday” to describe the swarms of shoppers and tourists flooding the city, where they would have to control a large volume of traffic, crowds of people, and shopliftters who would try to take advantage of the madness.
In the 1960s, the term “Black Friday” officially made it on news articles in which many merchants and retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday in a positive light for not just themselves but shoppers as well. The concept of “red to black” was the notion that many businesses and retailers can go from making no profit (red) to finally turning a profit (black). Catching onto the pattern of shoppers mobbing stores the day after Thanksgiving, retailers started leveraging this chaotic yet profitable day by having some of the biggest sales and deals of the holiday season and the year.
Until the next one,
Stay Glowing
