Black Friday: A Brief History

Black Friday has long become the craziest shopping day of the year. People around the world flock to department stores and stand in line for hours to get themselves the best and cheapest deals. Here's a brief (well-researched!) history, and some advice.

How it all started

The day following Thanksgiving has been regarded as the official start of the holiday shopping season in the US for pretty much the last 100 years. The custom can be related to the concept of Santa Claus parades. Santa Claus frequently makes an appearance at the conclusion of Thanksgiving parades, anticipating Christmas, the next most significant holiday after Thanksgiving.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in all major cities throughout Canada and the US, department stores frequently sponsored Santa or Thanksgiving parades. These included the Eaton's Toronto Santa Claus Parade, that started in 1905, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan, New York City, starting in 1924. These parades quickly became a good opportunity for the big retail chains to launch a big adversting push. All Xmas-related advertising had to wait, though, until the end of the parade to start: it became some sort of unwritten rule that all big retail stores would follow.

And that is how Black Friday came to be. The first day after Thanksgiving every store was basically free to start pushing their Christmas advertising. In line with the pure capitalistic heart of America's economy, all the big players saw the opportunity and started to invest more and more in campaigns for Black Friday. Did they know that less than a century later people would risk getting trampled to get themselves a bag of mint Milano cookies?

Where did the name Black Friday came from?

Well, through the years we've really heard them all, on Black Friday's name.

One of the most common explanations relates to the accounting concept of being "in the red" and being "in the black". The first day after Thanksgiving would be the day when retailers finally get to see some profit (being in the black) after having having operated at loss the whole year (being in the red).

Others would say that the name came about among the employees of a big (and unknown) retail store. Because of all the extra hours of extra work that this day demands.

And, of course, social media at one point spread "the news" that the name would have racial connotations. "Apparently", the name would origin from the 18th century use of selling slaves on the day after Thanksgiving. Just your usual dose of woke misinformation, you know.

So, where's the truth?

In truth, the most plausible explanation seemd to be the following.

The first recorded use of the term is from 1951. That is when M.J. Murphy, an associate editor of the journal "Factory Management and Maintenance" from New York City used it in humorus fashion to describe a day known for worker absenteeism. Murphy wrote the term referring to the common practice of workers to call sick the day after Thanksgiving, so that they could get four whole days off, which, at the time, wasn't common at all.

The term seem to have lingered, and for sure it must have spread around quite a bit In fact, it is known that during the 50s and 60s, the Philadelphia police would use the term Black Friday (and Black Saturday too) to refer to the distrastous situation they would have to operate in. On the few days immediately after Thanksgiving, the streets would be full of both car and pedestrian traffic, making it a living hell for the police to manage.

Be it for one reason or another, the term stuck and became widely used in the Philadelphia area in the 70s and then reached nation-wide use in the 80s. Most people would just use it to describe the madness and the chaos of the shopping days, in a negative light. But just wait a few more years for the international markets to really open up and for the Internet to kick in, and Black Friday became the big deal that is now.

Black Friday today

As you would expect, Black Friday this year is projected to be as big as it's ever been. Although consumers' trends have changed significantly in the last decade, this day remains a super-hot day in every seller agenda. And in every buyer's too! So, make sure you're ready, because we're getting closer and closer. This year's best Friday is going to be the 25th of November. And most stores are going to have their best products discounted all the way 'til Cyber Monday, the 28th.

The Corona virus pandemic has only sped up a major commerce tendency that was already clearly noticeable before 2020. Less and less people are likely to go shopping to traditional retail stores, and more and more they're flocking towards e-commerce. Sure enough, by shopping online you have more time to compare all the best deals and get yourself the ultimate bargain of your dream. Also, we all know it, we're just getting overall lazier as a species! And who doesn't fancy shopping in just a few clicks from the comfort of the couch?

Black Friday at LookerOnline

Here at LookerOnline we're preparing a package of deals that it's just going to be unbeatable! We can't tell you everything just yet... but be ready for 30%, 40%, 50% discounts on brands like Gucci, Tom Ford, Prada, Carrera, Ray-Ban, Persol, Oakley... All of your favorites!

Our best advice? Start checking out for your favorite models now at LookerOnline, so that when "the day" comes, you'll already know which model to get for yourself, and which ones for your friends and family. Remember: this is the best time of the year to get the absolute lowest price on most eyewear. Buy now at a bargain price, and you won't have to spend a fortune when spring 2023 gets here!

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