Black Friday has snowballed over the years into one of the biggest sales bonanzas of every year. The term “Black Friday” refers to a day when retail companies go “into the black.” That is, they make a profit. It’s the day that follows Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. This is a day when turkey-stuffed customers do some shopping over the holiday. Thanks to retail stores like Rugman.com, this shopping-fest is now a craze across the nations. In fact, Black Friday is now celebrated all over the world. But, where exactly did the term “Black Friday” come from?
Origin of Black Friday
Black Friday is clearly a fever that sweeps across many nations in the word. Retailers like Rugman.com get better sales while offering amazing deals to rug buyers. Just like McDonald’s, Theme Parks, and Halloween, Black Friday has its history. The popularity of Black Friday started in the 1940s and it has risen to coincide with incidences of major discounters and department stores in the U.S. At Rugman, we offer amazing discounts to allow families and individuals to pick up the best bargains of the year on Black Friday. Today, there are numerous stories behind Black Friday.
Financial Crisis
The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” did not apply to holiday shopping. Instead, the term was used in reference to a financial crisis or the U.S gold market crash on September 24, 1869. Two Wall Street Financiers, Jim Fisk and Jay Gould bought as much gold as they could hope that they could push the price high then sell it to make astonishing profits. However, the conspiracy was unraveled on that Friday causing a subsequent free-fall of the stock market. Everyone in Wall Street including barons and farmers were bankrupted.
Holiday Shopping
The story that is repeated the most links Black Friday to retailers. After making losses throughout the year or operating in red, retail stores supposedly earn a profit or go into the black on the day that follows Thanksgiving. That’s because holiday shoppers tend to blow more money on the discounted items. Although retailers used to make losses in red and profits in black while doing accounting, this story on the origin of Black Friday is officially sanctioned though it might be inaccurate about the tradition.
Ugly twist
Over the recent years, another story has sufficed to give the Black Friday tradition an ugly twist. The myth claims that owners of Southern plantations bought slaves in the 1800s at discounted prices on the day that followed Thanksgiving. Although this version of the roots of Black Friday has led to calls to boycott this retail holiday offer, it’s not based on facts.
Traffic Trouble
The true story of Black Friday is generally not sunny. In the 1950s, the Philadelphia city police used this term to describe the chaos that followed the Thanksgiving Day as hordes of tourists and suburban shoppers flood the city in advance of the large Army-Navy football game that was held on Saturday that followed Black Friday every year. Philly cops could not take a day off and they had to work extra-long shifts due to the additional traffic and crowds. Shoplifters took advantage of this bedlam in the stores to take off with merchandise adding a headache to the law enforcers.
As of 1961, this day had caught on to an extent where boosters and merchants in Philadelphia city tried unsuccessfully to call it “Big Friday” as a way of removing its negative connotations. Nevertheless, retailers came up with a way of reinventing Black Friday later in the 1980s and turned it into a day that reflects positively on both retailers and customers. Thanksgiving marked an occasion when stores in America turned profits as mentioned earlier.
Second World War
The term Black Friday has also been used in reference to the bad battle days during the Second World War. In particular, the term is used in reference to the days when devastating bush fires in Australia and a peaceful protest in the Maldives capital, Male, led police into firing teargas on the protestors. In November 1910, the term was used in reference to the peaceful protest of suffragettes that marched on parliament and police arrested and assaulted them.
Black Friday today
The story of Black Friday stuck and the darker roots of the term in Philadelphia have almost been forgotten. Since that time, the sales bonanza that initially lasted for a single day has morphed into a large four-day event. It has also spawned into other retail holidays like Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday/Sunday. Stores started to open earlier on Black Friday. Today, dedicated shoppers head out right after taking Thanksgiving meals.
It is estimated that about 135.8 million Americans shop during the Thanksgiving Weekend with the majority of them taking advantage of Black Friday sales that stores like Rugman.com offer. The National Retail Federation notes that the holiday season comprises of November and December. In 2009, each shopper spent up to $373 on Black Friday. This was more than half the average amount of $673 that every shopper spent during the holiday season the same year. It was also an increase in sales by 0.3%. In 2010, there was a rebound of holiday sales by 5.2% after the recession. Sales of the Black Friday weekend hit$45 billion. This figure increased by 2.3% in 2011. The Wall Street Journal reported that the overall sales increased by 4.6% this year.
It’s also estimated that both store and online sales for the Black Friday Weekend stood at $57.4 million in 2013. Many shoppers opted to wait for bigger discounts that were offered later during the shopping season. In 2015, there was a 3.0% increase in Black Friday sales.
Best Black Friday rug deals
At Rugman, we offer the best rug deals on Black Friday. In fact, Black Friday is the only day when we give our customers up to 70% off on all rugs that they buy from us. This is clearly a big discount that you don’t want to miss.
Simply browse through our rugs early now and put your favorite carpets in your shopping cart or wish list and buy them during our amazing Black Friday sale!
