For many, Black Friday is the time of year to do their Christmas shopping. It is one of the most important shopping events of the year, since it falls between November 23 and 29. High tech, fashion, beauty, decoration, travel, household appliances… Nothing escapes this extraordinary shopping day.
Black Friday is a great bargain for shopping fans. And among the profusion of offers available in large and small shops, you will inevitably find what you are looking for.
What is Black Friday?
The Black Friday is a promotional campaign that takes place every year the last week of November in U.S. and in many countries worldwide. The Black Friday is THE unmissable for shopping fans. This event is also the time of year when you will find the lowest prices on many FMCG products and services.
From the origin of Black Friday to the present day, we tell you all about the history of this event from across the Atlantic.
What is the history of Black Friday?
The concept of “Black Friday” was born in the United States. The history of Black Friday dates back to the 1930s. It was introduced just after Thanksgiving by traders who wanted to revitalize the economy after the Great Depression of 1929.
Where does the name Black Friday come from?
By looking a little, we find two anecdotes on this subject.
The first would like traders to change the color in the books of accounts on Black Friday and switch from red, the color of the deficit, to black, the color of the profits. If this theory is widely relayed, it is also the least “verified”.
The other hypothesis, much more likely, goes that it was in the 1960s, in Philadelphia, that the term “Black Friday” was born.
At the time, the Philadelphia police called the traffic jams monster Thanksgiving weekend when the streets were congested with pedestrians and motorists. In addition, the American distribution chain Macy’s used at that time, the great annual popular Thanksgiving parade, to launch its advertising campaigns for the Christmas season. A few years later, the movements of crowds and other traffic jams that formed during this long weekend were commented on as “Black Friday” and “Black Saturday” by the services of the city of Philadelphia.
Despite attempts to change to a more positive name like Big Friday, it was Black Friday that stuck.
Over the past decade, Black Friday has become a worldwide phenomenon, a big day of sales and discounts.
With the rise of online commerce, Black Friday, carried by Amazon, quickly spread around the world.
Black Friday is the “signal start” of the Christmas shopping season. The promotions are so gigantic that the scenes of jubilation in the stores are legion. Nothing to do with the sales, the level is much higher. You should know that Black Friday is the most important day in the United States for trade and that this day has even become a holiday.
A very short shopping period which mobilizes more consumers and traders every year for several reasons:
On the one hand, it is an American tradition that celebrates the last great holiday of the year before Christmas.
Historically, Black Friday sales are the starting point for Christmas shopping, which will continue throughout the month of December.
The emergence of e-commerce and online shopping has amplified the Black Friday phenomenon since this period allows e-merchants to place orders before Christmas.
Why is Black Friday popular in U.S.?
Black Friday in U.S. has been growing in popularity over the years.
Over a very short shopping period, Black Friday mobilizes more consumers and traders every year for several reasons:
On the one hand, it is an American tradition that celebrates the last great holiday of the year before Christmas. Historically, Black Friday sales are the starting point for Christmas shopping, which will continue throughout the month of December.
Since then, Black Friday has become the day to go shopping. Even better than the last minute Christmas sales. Some shops put their items on sale on the Monday before Black Friday. They thus offer a whole week of promotions, which has become “ Black Week ” and renew their offers every day.
The most sought-after items are electronics, fashion and toys, as these are the ones with the biggest discounts. However, prices are reduced for everything. From home furnishings to banking services to travel and tourism. The discounts offered can be 30%, 50% and often even up to 70% off. The best deals Black Friday in Switzerland remains an opportunity for consumers to take advantage of the best market prices in many categories.
If you are looking for the latest iPhone 11 pro or a Samsung Galaxy? Want to treat yourself to the latest Samsung 4K SMART TV? Then Black Friday is for you! Whether it’s to change your wardrobe or access luxury products at low prices. There will always be a good deal among Black Friday deals in the Unted States. The discounts offered are for the whole family. Some merchants have offers that can be combined with loyalty cards on a wide selection of items.
When is Black Friday?
The actual date of Black Friday changes every year, but the day of the week remains the same: it’s always the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Every year, this shopping day with dizzying promotions is a delight for fans of good deals. It will give you less time to shop online. It doesn’t seem very important today, but it will take into account the publication of the best deals, the lowest price and the delivery time.
How Long Does Black Friday Last?
Black Friday weekend is not a four day affair. The offers offered do not always follow the usual sales model with identical promos spread over time.
Today, “Black Friday” is more than just a one-day sales frenzy, or even a long weekend. We see new events appear upstream ( Single’s Day ) and downstream (Cyber Monday). In the end, it’s a whole month of savings for consumers with new offers every day.
If you know where to shop and when to push the button and are smart, this is the best time of year to shop and save a lot of money.
Black Friday dates in the coming years:
Black Friday 2021: Friday November 26, 2021
Black Friday 2022: Friday November 25, 2022
Black Friday 2023: Friday November 24, 2023
Timeline: Thanksgiving to Black Friday
The key dates of the birth of the movement
1789 The First Federal Congress of the United States of America passed a resolution asking the President of the United States for a recommendation on an official Thanksgiving date.
A few days later, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday, November 26, 1789 the “Day of Public Thanksgiving”. For the first time the event was celebrated under the new Constitution of the country. Subsequent presidents issued Thanksgiving proclamations, but the dates and even the months of the celebrations varied.
1863 Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln , Thanksgiving will be commemorated regularly each year on the last Thursday in November.
1930 The years following the Great Depression , the distribution sector was going through difficult times. It was during this period that the popular parades, organized during the Thanksgiving weekend, served as a support for the distributor Macey’s to launch its advertising campaign for Christmas shopping.
1939 That year, the last Thursday in November fell on the last day of the month . Concerned about the shortening of the Christmas trading season that could slow down economic recovery, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a Presidential Proclamation that allowed Thanksgiving to pass to the penultimate Thursday of November.
Following the proclamation, 32 states issued similar proclamations, while 16 states refused to accept the change and proclaimed Thanksgiving to be the last Thursday in November. For two years, Thanksgiving was celebrated on two different days depending on the state, except in Texas where it was celebrated twice.
1970-80 The “Big Friday” repositioning campaign in favor of the merchants of the previous years has truly failed, it is Black Friday that will remain with the birth of the story of the color of the ink used by retailers in their books. . Namely black (Black) for profits and red ink to indicate losses. This story is still the most cited among the media around the world today, but also the least documented.
2002 This year, for the first time , Black Friday sales exceed those of the Saturday before Christmas in the United States. The leading retailer Walmart has forgotten Thanksgiving and is now focusing its commercial operations on Black Friday with hours arranged in stores.
2005-2010 The Black Friday phenomenon leaves the borders of North America and is born in Brazil, then Germany, and many other countries. The movement is gaining momentum and accelerating the growing use of the web and online sales.
2015 In Switzerland, Manor, the powerful distributor , launches its first national Black Friday operation with exceptional promotions only available on the last Friday of November.
2017 Black Friday conquered European merchants , France, Spain, the Netherlands, etc.
Who participates in Black Friday?
Each year the number of brands and retailers participating in Black Friday U.S. continues to increase.
From Texas to New York via Florida or Ohio, all the cities take part in Black Friday, no one escapes the rule.
As we know, the categories affected by the discounts are numerous. High-tech, computers, TV, consoles and smartphones hold the top of the list. They are closely followed by Fashion, clothing, footwear and accessories, sport, beauty and cosmetics, tourism and travel. For 2 years we have seen the emergence of new categories such as cars, animals, services… The only limit to promotions will be the imagination of brands and retailers.
So we find the biggest brands and retailers during Black Friday in U.S. Here is a non-exhaustive list which will give you a small overview:
Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Chewy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Overstock, Petco, Staples, Target, The Home Depot, Walmart, Adorama, Apple, B&H Photo, Bose, Dell, GoPro, HP, JBL, Kindle, LG , Master & Dynamic, Microsoft, Nomad, PhoneSoap, PopSockets, Samsung, Sonos, Speck, UrbanEars, Verizon, 1-800-Flowers, Abbio, Apt2B, Allswell, AJ Madison, Amazing Clubs, Anthropologie, Autonomous, Avocado, Baked by Melissa.
Why is Black Friday important?
Black Friday has continued to fall on the taste of consumers and companies, and is already considered the most important event of electronic commerce globally.
The Black Friday is now, without doubt, one of the most important dates for the trade worldwide. In U.S., it has gained prominence over the years and its importance is only increasing every year.
Such an important date for online sales marks the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season and is the day when stores offer the biggest and best discounts of the year. Dates such as Black Friday are increasingly on the minds of all consumers waiting for this event.
Black Friday is important as it already has a higher sales volume than Christmas, especially for Large retailers who have realized the potential of Black Friday and started to treat it very seriously, concentrating efforts and investments. Meanwhile, consumers have come to understand that seasonality is a great opportunity to purchase products and services with excellent discounts, in a gear that made Black Friday the most important date for U.S. retailers, whether physical or electronic.
For shopkeepers, this date represents more than just sales, but also a possible balance for sales and company accounts.
And if in physical commerce, sales have great highlights, the date is even more expected for online stores, which are preparing up to a year in advance to make a Black Friday that can really make a difference in the market.
Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
Black Friday, which now occupies most of November, is one of the best times of the year to find fantastic deals. And every time we talk about Black Friday, we mention Cyber Monday as well.
So what is the difference between the two events? And most importantly, what day will you find the best deals?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: what are they?
Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Black Friday, and this year it falls on November 30.
Originally, Cyber Monday was a purely online event. Created by Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman of the National Retail Federation of the United States (NRF), it aimed to promote online shopping in 2005. At the time, the Internet was in its infancy. We had to help small businesses to compete with the big brands that kept talking about Black Friday.
Both sales events have a lot of amazing technical offers. Whether you are looking for a new laptop or noise canceling headphones.
Cyber Monday is also a good time to find deals on small home appliances . So if you are looking for a new microwave, wait until Monday. Most brands and retailers continue their Black Friday offers until Cyber Monday. And sometimes with even lower prices! If you see a Black Friday stock that hits the mark, we recommend grabbing it. The products can sell out very quickly. And you can always return the item if you see a better deal on Cyber Monday.
Prepare and take advantage of Black Friday as a seller to sell more
Online sales can start as early as the Monday before the big date. So make sure that you and your ecommerce are prepared to engage hungry bargain shoppers well in advance.
Among the strategies to prepare are:
- Determine the product you would like to offer on Black Friday.
- Review and update your product pages
- Update your home page
- Create a countdown counting the days until Black Friday.
- Inform your prospects and customers about promotions in your store.
- Display visually appealing offers, discounts, free shipping , referral coupons, premium point gifts on your website.
- Have a complete payment solution
- Offer diversity in online payment methods so your customers can buy as and when they want.
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