Black Friday: Origins, significance and why it matters to businesses

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, has become synonymous with massive sales, bustling stores, and the start of the holiday shopping season. It has transformed into a key moment in the retail industry and significant economic impact for businesses.
The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1950s by police officers in Philadelphia. It referred to the chaos that occurred on the Friday after Thanksgiving, as the city became flooded with shoppers and football fans arriving for the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday. The traffic jams, overcrowded streets, and booming retail sales made the day particularly challenging for law enforcement and local businesses, earning it a negative connotation. The “black” in the name symbolized the grim experience of managing the chaos.
By the 1960s, the term spread beyond Philadelphia, becoming widely recognized as the busiest shopping day of the year.
In the 1980s, retailers worked to change the negative image of Black Friday. They linked it to accounting terms, where “in the red” means losing money and “in the black” means making a profit. This made Black Friday known as the day retailers moved from losses to profits, showing economic success.
This new idea became popular with both consumers and businesses, turning Black Friday from a chaotic day into a symbol of financial success and marking the start of the holiday shopping season.
Over time, Black Friday expanded beyond a single day of in-store sales. The rise of online shopping and the blending of deals with Cyber Monday has turned it into a multi-day or even week-long shopping event. Retailers offer deals well before the official day, and in some cases, Black Friday sales extend into the weekend and beyond.
The event has also become a global phenomenon, with countries like Canada, the UK, Brazil, and India adopting the tradition.
For businesses, Black Friday is more than just a big sales day—it’s a key time for making money. Many retailers make a lot of money from the big discounts offered, with sales making up a big part of their yearly earnings.
The benefits for businesses include:
-Big discounts bring in millions of shoppers, leading to record sales.
-Retailers use Black Friday to clear out old stock to make room for new items.
-Special deals attract new customers who might return later.
-Online shopping has made Black Friday a global event, with deals extending into Cyber Monday and even beyond.