Black Friday is known as the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States. Stores across the nation offer limited-time deals and low prices on goods and services just in time for holiday season shoppers. Having worked for over 18 years as the manager at the J. Crew store in the Wrentham Outlets, David Kirby, Feehan Class of 2003, says the shops get busy. What normally would be a short ride from North Attleboro to the Wrentham Outlets takes Kirby about 45 minutes on Black Friday to make it there by 5 a.m. Kirby describes the environment as fun and says there’s much “excitement as the day goes on and gets busier.” He also mentions, though, that as the day progresses, people can become frustrated with the crowds, long lines, and business of the shops. Black Friday is a popular shopping tradition that has been popular for years, but where does the popular tradition originate from?
Many believe the term Black Friday originates from the idea that businesses are “in the red,” or at a financial loss, until the day after Thanksgiving which allows for a larger profit as the massive sales attract customers and put the businesses “in the black.” This isn’t true, however; the term originates back to the 1960s in Philadelphia. The term Black Friday was originally used by police officers to describe the chaos that occurred when tourists began coming into the city to holiday shop and attend the annual Army-Navy football game on Saturday. With loads of people, there was an increase in traffic, accidents, and shoplifting, which created a large burden that the Philadelphia police had to combat.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that Black Friday began to have more of a positive connotation. During this time, the false “black-to-red” backstory grew popular since stores began profiting much more from all the holiday sales and endorsements. Stores open early on Fridays, some even at midnight, to allow crowds of bustling shoppers to rush in. With such great deals, customers flood the stores in a frenzy seeking the best items.
Over the past couple of years, though, many customers stopped visiting stores in person for Black Friday and switched to online shopping instead. Seen as an easier task, online shopping for deals and discounted items has grown popular with many. As a result, Cyber Monday became a new day to celebrate similar to Black Friday, only these shopping deals are solely online. After 2020, when the outbreak of COVID-19 swept through the world, online shopping increased immensely, and many customers switched to finding online deals during the holiday season rather than in-person shopping deals on Black Friday.
Despite this sudden switch, Kirby believes that the concept of Black Friday will always remain. He explains that “Black Friday is more of a tradition for people.” From his experience of working on Black Fridays, Kirby notes that “Cyber Monday has impacted [Black Friday] a bit,” explaining that traffic has died down over the years and stores aren’t as chaotic as they previously have been.
Black Friday will always be an important day to celebrate great deals and shop for holiday gifts, but the real importance and excitement of the tradition lies within the family and friends you celebrate it with.
