Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the US. It is a celebration of the harvest and other blessings of the past year. It is not affiliated with any religion, therefore it is respected and celebrated by all Americans. This holiday's roots go back to 1621 to the first English colonists (Pilgrims), who gave thanks with blessing and praying, feasts, drinks, and various games and races. The holiday continues its traditions throughout the current day. It is the busiest travel time for families to unite and spend this holiday together. Right after Thanksgiving, the 4th Thursday of November, the unofficial Christmas/ holiday season kicks in, the season of shopping, joy, and festivities.
Often, Americans opt to do their shopping in advance and get in the holiday spirits. Many retailers operate based on this phenomenon and build their strategies to benefit from this trend. This is not just a recent occurrence as the history of the busiest shopping day goes back to 1950. Back then, in Philadelphia, many suburban people and tourists came to watch an important Army-Navy football game held on Saturdays. The large crowds overflowed the streets, overwhelmed the retailers, and became a large risk and burden for the local police. Violent attacks and shoplifting were the main themes of that day and registered in history with a negative tone. The new spin of Black Friday came in 1980 and 1990. Retailers and merchants realized that the Friday after Thanksgiving was a day that boosted their sales to the point that “red” (marked as negative) losses for the year turned into “black” (or positive) profits within a day. This is what granted the Friday after Thanksgiving the well-known name of “Black Friday.” Many stores open their doors at midnight to let dedicated shoppers get the best deals. People were camping in front of the stores for hours to be the first in and get the desired items at discounted prices to be later wrapped and put under the tree. Building on this momentum, the one-day shopping extravaganza extended through the full weekend, becoming a three-day shopping bonanza. In 2005 the retailers realized that online shopping is equally important and extended the Thanksgiving weekend until Monday. And that’s how Cyber Monday was born. By 2017 Americans spent $6.6 billion shopping online on Cyber Monday as compared to $7.9 billion spent shopping in stores and online on Black Friday.
At a mere glance, stats from 2022 prove that Black Friday sales are one of the biggest shopping events in the US. There were over 196.7 million shoppers in the US that spent $65.3 billion on shopping. Most of the sales were done in-person, in-store, as only $9.12 billion was made online. Interestingly, over-the-phone orders are becoming more popular in contributing to the Black Friday extravaganza; about 47% of sales were made on mobile phones. It is estimated that on average, the Americans saved 24% by shopping on Black Friday.
The 2023 shopping frenzy of Black Friday is expected to continue injecting billions of dollars into the consumer sector of the economy. The jaw-dropping discounts, and online and in-store promotions combined with massive crowds contribute to the businesses operating in red to shift the profitability into positive, for the year. The shopping spree not only impacts retailers but also provides additional job opportunities, additional workforce demand, and longer hours. All of this reduces unemployment rates in the end.
The Black Friday of 2023 is just around the corner on November 24th, some retailers are starting promotions and great deals much sooner to take the full benefit of the current economy. They are anticipating that increased inflation and rising interest rates may impact the discretionary budget of the customer. It gets tighter. By offering big discounts the stores may be impacting their profitability however, they still opt to do so as they don’t want the customer to go elsewhere.
Even though Black Friday originated in the US, in recent years the shopping bonanza has been gaining interest internationally and has been extended to the following countries: Australia, Canada, UK, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Poland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, India, Norway, Sweden, France, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico.
This day extended to a four-day bonanza brings a very welcomed economic effect, so let’s support the on-going tradition that brings happiness during the holiday season and boosts the economy.