Black Friday’s history is fascinating, but it is not what many people think.
So, why is it called Black Friday? How did this famous shopping event get its name, and where did the tradition originate?
In this article, we dive into the history of Black Friday and explain how this tradition was born on the streets of Philadelphia in the United States.
Why is it called Black Friday in America?
The ‘black’ in Black Friday has nothing to do with race, ethnicity, or any section of the American population. It’s also not concerned with finances and being ‘in the black’ rather than ‘in the red,’ as many people think.
After all, throughout history, the descriptor ‘black’ has been added to numerous events with negative connotations – just think about the Black Death or the original Black Friday, and you will know what we mean.
The very first Black Friday on record occurred in 1869. Financier James Fisk tried to corner the gold market, which led to widespread financial panic and the collapse of the market.
This was one of the first financial collapses on record in the United States, and in the decades that followed, the event was colloquially known as the original Black Friday.
If we proceed to the late 1920s, another, more significant financial crash occurred, this time on Black Tuesday, October 29th, 1929.
This led to the Great Depression of the 1930s and the most significant economic crisis of the age. It also paved the way for the rise of fascism in Europe and Asia and ultimately, at least in part, led to the Second World War.
Given America’s historical predilection for naming seismic, negative events as ‘black’ something or other, many people automatically assume that the modern concept of Black Friday has similar origins.
From a financial standpoint, many people point to the fact that it’s an opportunity for retailers to get ‘into the black’ ahead of Christmas. But in reality, this misses the mark, and the origins of Black Friday, the shopping tradition, have nothing to do with finance, as we explain below.
America’s Black Friday has its origins in Philadelphia
The Black Friday that we all know about today can be attributed to historical events in Philadelphia in the 1960s. Philly cops in the 1960s had to work grueling 12-hour shifts in the immediate days after Thanksgiving to deal with an influx of visitors heading to shops in the city.
Many of these bargain hunters traveled in from the suburbs to begin their holiday shopping, causing huge traffic problems and an overload in the city center. Even more of an issue for the cops trying to keep everything in check was that this influx of shoppers coincided with the annual Army vs. Navy football game in the city, further adding to the problem.
As a result, it felt like the entire state of Pennsylvania descended upon Philly in the aftermath of Thanksgiving, leading local cops to term the start of the long weekend as Black Friday.
Rather than seeing it as a bad thing, local business owners and retailers within the city saw it as a marketing opportunity. Many launched, for the first time in America, Black Friday sales, to try and attract shoppers to their outlets rather than their competitors.
From these humble origins, Black Friday became a state-wide trend, and by the 1980s, the tradition was almost as popular as Thanksgiving itself.
Black Friday today – the introduction of Cyber Monday
Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, many people’s shopping habits shifted from visiting brick-and-mortar stores to shopping primarily at online retailers.
This trend has only strengthened in recent years, with many people preferring to do practically all of their pre-Christmas shopping without leaving home.
Therefore, Cyber Monday was launched in 2005 as a way for retailers to offer exclusive discounts to online shoppers.
Today, then, rather than having a single day to access the best discounts and offers, shoppers have an entire post-Thanksgiving weekend to do their shopping both in-store and online. The weekend begins in the early hours of Black Friday (the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving) and ends late on Cyber Monday.
Essentially, practically every business in the United States now has to consider which sales window to participate in, with each retailer deciding on a schedule to suit their customer base.
Black Friday 2024 at Laifen
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Recap: Why is it called Black Friday?
In spite of the many rumors and suggestions circulating about the history of Black Friday, the origins of this shopping tradition can be pinned to the Philadelphia Police Department in the 1960s, with officers fatigued and frustrated by the influx of visitors to the city.
They would have had no idea that their labeling of the day as Black Friday would trigger the global shopping phenomenon that we all know and love today!
