Black Friday falls on the 27th of November 2020 this year which is expected to last for the whole weekend, followed by Cyber Monday, an Only online sale day of the week.
As this year’s sale is nearly at the end of November, the shopaholics out there are left with very little time to get their shopping lists completed.
Black Friday is counted amongst the very common and majorly known events worldwide. As gloomy as it sounds, it isn’t at all. For the Americans, is just a fancy name for the 4th Friday right after Thanksgiving Day. The Black Friday officially announces the beginning of Christmas Shopping and time for people to start ticking items from their wish-lists as everything out there is on a massive sale with amazing discounts.
In the following writeup, you are going to know more about the day. Its information stands unknown by many till now! Yes, the majority of the people would know the ways of celebrating it and the day it falls on. But, are they aware of its importance, history and other interesting facts? Well, the answer is going to be a complete no here.
As per the survey, a notable chunk of the population is still not familiar with the historical significance of Black Friday. Read on to know more.
What Does Black Friday Signify?
Black Friday is the day that marks the commencement of America’s shopping season since 1952. The term Black Friday was not much widely used and has gained acceptance recently over recent decades.
The day isn’t treated as an official government holiday in many places, but few states like California, etc observe it as a day off followed by The Thanksgiving Day as most schools and retail stores treat it as a holiday and making it a 4 day week which encourages potential buyers to get out of their houses to spend money and shop.
Origin of the day:
The Black Friday originally began in the year 1951, November right after Thanksgiving Day and yet again in 1952 where it was observed that the roads were packed and the workers had called in for being sick just to get a four-day weekend off to spend with their families.
Around the same time duration, the terms Black Friday and Black Saturday were used by Philadelphia police and they described it as terms used to mention heavy traffic and congested roads with Christmas Shopping at its peak.
Later in 1961, these terms were tried to get improvised, naming them as ‘Big Friday’ and ‘Big Saturday’ but it did not last long and were forgotten by the people.
Sales and Deals Strategy:
Despite the sale being said to occur on a particular day, deals and offers are already out by the mid of October. Various vendors and retailers spread the word for the sale and discounts, resulting in the early footfall of customers.
Many retailers like Amazon, Flipkart, etc have already made the deals out, increasing the interest and enthusiasm among the people.
According to what researchers have observed, Electronic Appliances are put on sale, a week before the actual day arrives. Home decor, toys, and other household items are available at amazing prices before Thanksgiving as the decoration starts during that period.
The most attractive deals and minimum guaranteed discounts are put up in stores when the Thanksgiving week starts. People love to shop for their loved ones coming home over the weekend for Thanksgiving.
In an interview with people about the deals and discounts around this season, it was observed that maximum discounts on online products are on Thanksgiving Day and not on Black Friday. Games, accessories, computer applications, software and a lot more are available at very cheap rates during this season.
But keeping the essence of the Black Friday alive, the best online deals are on TV appliances, electronic gadgets, and jewelry. From Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, the maximum sales are done. 20% of the overall holiday shopping is done during this long weekend. To mark the end of the shopping season spree, a Green Monday is in trend which is observed as the last day to shop online with the left-over deals and discounts.
Green Monday usually falls in the 1st week of December, so that people place their orders in time and receive them before Christmas Day. The last-minute buyers wait for the Green Monday to avail last-minute discounts and deals on products.
Violence and Chaos created during this week
Chaos follows a large number of people gather together, in competition with each other and to grab the best things possible.
The Thanksgiving week followed by the day has witnessed so many chaotic situations, leading to stampede, injuries and even deaths.
- A woman threatening the crowd and cutting the line was arrested outside the Toys R Us store.
- Walmart store in Buffalo, New York witnessed a stampede as soon as the doors opened.
- Store volunteer at Toys for Tots was stabbed by a shoplifter on being questioned.
- To get the Xbox 360, earlier than those in line, a woman at California Walmart allegedly used pepper spray on those waiting in the lines for hours.
- Open gun-firing took place outside San Leandro Walmart store, luckily just one old man was injured.
- Florida’s Walmart witnessed open firing over a parking lot space issue.
- A 61-year-old pharmacist died, suffocated during the stampede.
Conclusion:
Black Friday is known for a good start, also resulted in so many weird incidents and loved ones being separated from their families.
With every drawback comes good news too. This year’s sale will be out soon, so grab your gadgets and start filling your cart, after all, Christmas is around the corner.