Black Friday: The Accidental Shopping Tradition

Oh Yes! We are inching closer to Black Friday, celebrated a day after Thanksgiving Day, which marks the beginning of people rushing to stores offering unbelievable discounts to satiate their thirst for style, luxury, and a touch of freshness to their winter wardrobes.

Reportedly, the sales that occur during this period make for 20 per cent of annual retail sales. This year shopaholics will begin their retail therapy on November 29, which is the fourth Thursday of this month, to make the best out of those once in a year shopping deal.

Why is the day after Thanksgiving branded as Black Friday?

Surprisingly, Black Friday was earlier linked to chaos and evolved into a day synonymous with shopping. In the 60's, traffic jams were a major concern for cops in Philadelphia, and the day post-Thanksgiving ended up being uncontrollable for them, resulting in the need for euphemism, the cops dubbed the day 'Black Friday'.

It was only in the 80's, that retailers started associating the term with profits. The Black before Friday was indicative of heavy sales pushing the accounts from red (loss) to black (profits).

Why does Black Friday create shopping waves annually? 

Given the family-oriented holiday spirit of Thanksgiving Day in the U.S, the following day became an unofficial holiday for workers in the United States, giving retailers the ideal chance to win over people with rebranding the day as one meant for grabbing the best-discounts on items of daily interest.

During the 1990s, major retail chains like Walmart began enticing people with 'doorbuster' offers. While major retail houses got the first-movers advantage, the rest followed suit. After the advent of the 'Internet Era', national holidays and marketing gimmicks got a global push, resonating with the general public in nation like India, and the UK.