The History of Black Friday

By Isha Vishwanath, 2027

Published 11/30/2023

The day after Thanksgiving is usually referred to as Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year in US history. On this day, stores offer limited sales and discounts allowing customers to save money on a variety of items. This special occasion causes shoppers to invest in many different stores which increases sales for many shops and online websites. 

Black Friday is believed to have come from the concept of businesses operating at a financial loss (put in the red) until the day after Thanksgiving. On Friday, all the sales and discounts increase their profit which puts them “in the black”. However, this theory turned out to be false. The most accurate explanation as to why this day is called Black Friday is when police officers in Philadelphia in the early 1960s started using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the uprising chaos when large numbers of tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping. The large crowds created a problem for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with issues such as traffic jams, car accidents, shoplifting, and more. In recent years, Black Friday has been followed by other shopping holidays. For example, Small Business Saturday encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, Cyber Monday promotes shopping online, and Giving Tuesday encourages charitable donations. 

In conclusion, Black Friday had a significant impact on the business industry. It has altered how businesses see holiday shopping, increased the importance of the holiday shopping season, and encouraged stores to offer online shopping options.