The words Black Friday make money in many of our back pockets start burning, and we get quite excited about buying that new phone or the newest PlayStation.
But should we believe the corporations when they tell us those items are 50% off?
Black Friday has become a yearly fixture for many of us, but when was the last time you questioned why we celebrate it?
Where does Black Friday come from?
In the 1950s, Black Friday had a completely different meaning, though it described the same kind of chaos on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
During that time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the US Army and Navy held a football game on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
On that Friday, tons of people flooded the city, creating a lot of traffic and a lot of work for the Philadelphia police department.
So, beginning on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, the police would have to work long hours, dealing with tourists, petty criminals, and hot-headed football fans.
Because they disliked it so much, the Philadelphia police and media dubbed this Black Friday.
What is Black Friday?
Retailers in Philadelphia started using the term in the late 1960s to market the day to people pouring into the city to do their holiday shopping after Thanksgiving.
Eventually, this caught on across the United States. Since then, companies have used the term to lure in shoppers with seemingly insane deals on items.
As a result, a surge of customers come through their doors to spend, marking the beginning of the holiday spending season.
In 2023, online retail stores logged 9.52 billion dollars in sales on Black Friday in the US alone.
This single day contributes about 10% to the entire holiday spending period between November and December.
With this large profit gain in such a short time, it’s easy to see why big companies are happy to sell their products at such a low cost.
Why do people participate in Black Friday?
Discounts, deals, and savings galore, right? Or is it all just because we get caught up in the hype?
After all, According to one study, around 57% of American consumers think they might be getting hoodwinked by big businesses on Black Friday, yet they still get involved!
Fortunately, this is not the reality; on average, stores in the US drop their prices by around 37% on Black Friday, while online stores drop their prices by about 34%.
The other reason people participate in the consumer “holiday” is that the December holidays come soon after.
For most people, the weekend after Thanksgiving is a long weekend, giving them plenty of time to do their shopping.
Is Big Business tricking you on Black Friday?
For the most part, they really do drop their prices a lot for Black Friday. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a few tricks up their sleeves.
One of their main tricks is to list an inflated reference price that they have discounted. This may be listed as a competitor price or a previous price, but the 50% discount you see might not be that much.
Online stores use cookies to track your spending. If you usually pay full price for the items you buy, those stores will give you less of a discount.
It’s best practice to set your browser to Incognito mode to get better deals.
There are also many scammers out there who take advantage of people’s willingness to buy things on Black Friday.
Though they mostly operate online, it’s always good to stay vigilant and make sure you get what you pay for.
While the term Black Friday has a dark past, many of us can’t turn down the amazing deals that are given to us by our corporate overlords, so it is important to keep your head screwed on tight.
That being said, I know where I am going to be on Black Friday, and it’s not cleaning up after Thanksgiving.
It’s in line at my favorite store, waiting for them to open those doors!
