So as you can see the Friday after Thanksgiving can mean various things, depending on your age.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Each year people lose their mind waking up going to the various stores for sale items on Black Friday. This day is a popular label attached to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the US. This day marks the beginning of the busy shopping season during which most consumers typically start their Christmas/holiday shopping.
While the word "black" often has a negative connotation, the use of black in this case alludes to profitability, which is traditionally noted in black ink (losses are noted in red). Traditionally, brick-and-mortar retailers see a surge in retail sales on this day as a result of the holiday shopping, putting their books "in the black".
Doorcrashers, special deals and heavy discounts on the most highly sought after holiday gifts are often offered by retailers in order to lure consumers into their stores in the hope that they will purchase other, higher margin goods. Some bargain hunting consumers have even been known to camp out overnight in order to secure a place in line at a favorite store. The contents of Black Friday advertisements are often so highly anticipated that retailers go to great lengths to ensure that they are not leaked out to the public beforehand.
For online retailers, there is a similar type of day on the Monday following Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday is known as the unofficial start of the online holiday shopping season as internet-savvy shoppers go to their favorite online retailers to do their holiday shopping. Similarly, online retailers also start promotions and sales on Cyber Monday in order to compete against the Black Friday offerings at brick-and-mortar stores.
Have you notice some people lose their mind over these sales on Black Friday?
What I have found is most people are aware of the concept of Black Friday. In the past many questioned whether there was an awareness of the term.
Wal-Mart, which prides itself on being a price leader, said most of its holiday prices were already set earlier in the month.
But they are having a Black Friday event. They will have some specific pricing this weekend,.
Most people are looking at buying electronics and small appliances. The other top item is clothing, particularly sleepwear.
The Black Friday as we know it today (long lines of people outside stores at 5am or even midnight) didn't gain popularity until the end of the 20th Century.
It had been a long standing tradition to have big sales starting the day after Christmas. It was during the Carter years that retailers tried jump starting the holiday shopping season with super sales on the day after Thanksgiving due to a predicted slump in Christmas gift sales. The previous year the "Day After Christmas" sale had pulled many retailers out of red ink as cash strapped shoppers took in the bargains after a disappointing Christmas season.
Double digit inflation and high unemployment after the Nixon/Ford years had put the nix on spending for luxury items like expensive gifts.
But over the years, the get-together has been cut short when someone announce they wanted to leave and stand in line for holiday deals at Walmart.
The retailer was opening its doors at midnight for deep discounts on everything from cameras to bicycles.
But this year, the sense of shopping urgency is growing even higher. Walmart is hoping to get an even bigger jump on the Black Friday bargain-shopping frenzy, throwing open its doors at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving. And many other retail chains, from Gap to Toys R Us, will be opening earlier on Thursday or expanding the number of locations open during pre-dawn hours on Friday.
Many people have a day off work or choose to take a day from their quota of annual leave on Black Friday. Some people use this to make trips to see family members or friends who live in other areas or to go on vacation. Others use it to start shopping for the Christmas season.
Shopping for Christmas presents is also popular on Black Friday. Many stores have special offers and lower their prices on some goods, such as toys.
As kids you never thought about this being a shopping day, but the day to go downtown and see Santa Claus arrive at Public Square.
Or to visit Highbees and May Co window that would be decorated with the joy of the holidays.
If you are a certain age, you will remember the spectacular indoor Christmas tree, the largest in the nation, at the Sterling-Lindner-Davis department store.
The store, located at E. 12th Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, served the community from 1909 until it closed in 1968.
The store windows in the May Co. were just so exciting – all the animated scenes. That was one of the best things about Christmas. We would also go to the Higbee Co., but I remember May Co. the best.
There were also all the special smells around the May Co. That nut and candy store. I could smell the fresh nuts being cooked, and it was a real treat when my parents would stop and let us get a small bag of nuts or candies.
As I think about those times, I see me begging my mother to take to Halles to see Mr. Jing - A- Ling..the keeper of the keys.
So as you can see the Friday after Thanksgiving can mean various things, depending on your age.
Check back with me next week, when I talk about the effects from Black Friday and hopefully now one was stomped fighting for that Big Screen TV.
