The History behind Black Friday

Black Friday has become a ‘tradition’ that marks the start of the festive shopping season and generates billions in consumer spending globally. But its origins are more complicated than one single day of sales, bargains and shopping. Since it’s ‘development’ from nineteenth-century financial turmoil to its modern role as an international shopping phenomenon, ‘Black Friday’ has evolved significantly, shaped by economics, culture and social change.

A Financial Crisis, Not a Sale

The earliest recorded use of “Black Friday” was in the United States and had nothing to do with shopping. It actually referred to a major financial crash which took place on the 24th September 1869. Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the American gold market. and it was their manipulation of gold prices that caused them to surge before collapsing. The stock market plunged, businesses failed and the day became known as “Black Friday” because it caused businesses to end up in financial ruin.

Clearly the situation was unrelated to shoppingl, but the use of the phrase became associated  with crisis and disruption.

In relation to consumersim, the modern meaning of “Black Friday” can be traced to Philadelphia in the post-war period.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the city experienced an high number of visitors the day after Thanksgiving. Shoppers, families and football fans, poured into central Philadelphia ahead of the annual Army–Navy football game held the weekend following Thanksgiving.

Police officers, overwhelmed by crowds, traffic jams and shoplifting, referred to the chaotic day as “Black Friday.” By the late twentieth century, retailers helped shape a more positive meaning rather than a negative one.

In business, losses were traditionally documented in red ink and profits in black. Retail associations promoted the idea that the day after Thanksgiving marked the point when many shops went “into the black” for the year due to strong pre-Christmas sales.

From the 1980s onwards, Black Friday became a major shopping tradition across the United States with families and friends sharing Thanksgiving dinner and then quite often leaving their homes at midnight to queue outside malls and shops in anticipation of finding a bargain.

Although Black Friday has it’s roots in American culture, it now has become a worldwide phenomenon with businesses advertising Black Friday deals as early as the beginning of November.

Whilst it is a very successful commercially initiative, Black Friday is not without criticism, with consumer organisations crticising the “misleading pricing practices”, leading regulators keeping a close eye on pricing and the promises made by retail businesses.

What began as a chaotic local phenomenon in Philadelphia has become a fixture globally with some consumers waiting eagerly for the deal.