Sunday 20 January 2013

The History of Black Friday

By Nea Brown


What is Black Friday exactly? It is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. On this day shops traditionally hold sales in order to welcome the Christmas shopping season, or Golden Quarter as retailers often call it. A recent trend is for retailers to open their doors early in the morning to maximize footfall. This also creates an event atmosphere among shoppers.

A number of explanations exist as to the meaning of the name Black Friday. There is a common belief that it represents the day when stores make the most money. Yet, academics have discovered that the phrase was first coined by the police force in Philadelphia. For them it means a challenging day with dense traffic, frustrated people and thus several accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians. At first this was not just because of shoppers. The day coincides with the annual Army verses Navy college football game hosted by the city.

Over the last decade, it has become the busiest day of the year. Crowds of people descend on stores in a quest to find a bargain. Employers often allow staff to leave work early, or even give them the day off entirely. Over the last few years, retailers' definition of early opening has gone further and further. Many shops now open at 4 a. M. And some have started trading at midnight.

The early opening times have captured the public's imagination and many people line up outside the entrance to be one of the first. As this has become increasingly popular, people arrive ever earlier to get a good spot. Today, people often spend hours waiting for the store to open its doors.

A large volume of people trying to enter the store creates safety concerns. Ensuring there is no crush once the doors are opened is extremely important. As people are waiting so long, security guards or even the police should be in attendance to keep everyone calm. Trained first aid people should be easily obtainable as people spending hours overnight in November could become ill.

Black Friday can be an exciting day for shoppers and retailers alike. It has become an event in the American calendar and shoppers clearly like it. Retailers nowadays record their biggest number of sales on this day. However, it is very important to handle the event efficiently. Any delays, cash-desk malfunctions or low stock levels can cause anger and thus create potential flash-points among a large crowd.

It is important to advertise the event well, as most of the competition will be doing something similar. Advertising should be done on local TV and on the internet. Promotions should target a few main products, along with smaller discounts on many other items. Publicity could also be made in coherence with the local weather. For example, if a shop is in a cold-climate city, the retailer could offer free soup to those waiting outside.

Promotion could concentrate on the stores preparedness. With the heading What Is Black Friday To You?, it could show an ill-prepared nameless shop. Then it would show the named store with things running smoothly. The ad could run on local TV and a different version could go viral online.




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