Black Friday

Black Friday History

Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days in the United States. It is marked by massive crowds and discounted prices that mean the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

Black Friday events in the United States date back to 1932. There are two ideas as to the origin of the name Black Friday, the first one is thought to have originated in Philadelphia, where it was used to describe the burden of traffic that left black track marks on roads. The second claims that Black Friday may also have stemmed from business accounting in the 1930s. During this time, businesses noted losses using red ink and their profits in black ink. Therefore, Black Friday may have been used to imply that businesses became profitable on this day as they go from being in the red to the black. Black Friday is the fourth Friday of November or the day after Thanksgiving Day in the US.

Black Friday facts

• According to IBM, for the first time in history smartphones and tablets outpaced desktop computers for generating consumer traffic to websites during Black Friday in 2015.
  
• According to consumerreports.org, heavily discounted televisions and other electronic items sold on Black Friday can be derivative models. Derivatives are products that have been manufactured specifically for sale at events like Black Friday. These products vary in specifications, quality and have less features than standard merchandise sold all-year long.

In the News and Trending in the UK for Black Friday

Top things to do in the UK for Black Friday

• Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude. Given that Black Friday follows Thanksgiving Day, use this day to spread gratitude and cheer to others. If you have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving Day, then use it to make sandwiches. You and your family can deliver these to the homeless people in your community.
• Carpool or take an Uber to your favorite shopping destination. There will be limited parking space available on Black Friday and some bus routes will be operating on a holiday schedule.