What is Black Friday ?
Black Friday is the day after the US holiday of Thanksgiving, which is traditionally also a holiday for many workers. It is usually a day full of special shopping deals and deep discounts and is considered the start of the holiday shopping season. In history, Black Friday was a stock market disaster that occurred on September 24, 1869. On that day, the price of gold crashed after a period of rampant speculation and the markets collapsed.
Understanding Black Friday
It's common for retailers to offer special promotions on Black Friday, opening their doors early in the morning to attract customers. To keep up with the competition, some retailers have even gone so far as to keep their operations open on the Thanksgiving holiday, while others start offering deals as early as November.
Truly avid bargain hunters have been known to camp out overnight on Thanksgiving to secure a spot in line at their favourite shop; the most fanatical have been known to skip Thanksgiving dinner altogether and camp out in parking lots for days or even weeks to get great deals. The promotions usually last through Sunday, and traditional stores see a spike in sales.
Black Friday and retail spending
Retailers can spend an entire year planning their Black Friday sales. They use the day as an opportunity to offer rock-bottom prices on surplus merchandise, as well as special deals and discounts on seasonal items like holiday decorations and typical Christmas gifts.
Retailers also offer significant discounts on expensive items and best-selling brands of televisions, smart appliances and other electronic devices, hoping that once in the shop, shoppers will buy goods with higher margins. The content of Black Friday ads is often so highly anticipated that retailers go to great lengths to make sure it does not get out to the public ahead of time.
Consumers often shop for the hottest trending items on Black Friday, which can lead to riots and violence if security is inadequate. For example, on Black Friday 1983, scuffles, fistfights and riots broke out in stores across the U.S. to buy Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, the must-have toy of the year believed to be in short supply. Shockingly, a clerk at a major shop was even trampled to death on Black Friday 2008 when throngs of shoppers crowded into the shop as the doors opened.
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