Definition from Wikipedia
This article is about the United States shopping event called Black Friday. For other uses, see Black Friday.
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday may be as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th of November. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employers give the day off, allowing consumers to get a head start on their Christmas shopping. Retailers often decorate for the Christmas season weeks beforehand. Many retailers open very early (typically 5am) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1970s. "Black Friday" was originally so named because of the heavy traffic on that day, although most contemporary uses of the term refer instead to it as the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).
The news media frequently refer to Black Friday as the busiest retail shopping day of the year, but this is not always accurate. While it has been one of the busiest days in terms of customer traffic,[1][2] in terms of actual sales volume, from 1993 through 2001 Black Friday was usually the fifth to tenth busiest day.
In 2002 and 2004, however, Black Friday ranked second place.[4] The busiest retail shopping day of the year in the United States (in terms of both sales and customer traffic) usually has been the Saturday before Christmas.[5] In 2003 and 2005, however, Black Friday actually did reach first place.[6]
In some cities it is not uncommon to see shoppers lined up hours before stores with big sales open. Once inside, the stores shoppers often rush and grab, as many stores have only a few of the big draw items. Electronics and popular toys are often the most sought-after items and may be sharply discounted. Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. The local media often will cover the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began lining up at various stores and providing video of the shoppers standing in line and later leaving with their purchased items. Traditionally Black Friday sales were intended for those shopping for Christmas gifts. For some particularly popular items, some people shop at these sales in order to get deep discounts on items they can then resell, typically online.
Todays story
US shoppers are preparing for their annual early morning rush to the malls on Friday, as leading retailers mark the day after Thanksgiving with their traditional array of "door-buster" bargains.
But this year the traditional focus on "Black Friday" - named because it was once the first day of the year that retailers' balance sheets went positive - is becoming increasingly blurred, reflecting competitive pressures and the rise of internet shoppers.
Traditionally, retailers would announce their Black Friday special deals in newspaper ads delivered on the Thursday of Thanksgiving. Stores then opened before dawn on the Friday, with shoppers already lined up outside chasing limited-availability special offers.
Story continues below #8595;advertisement
Click Here!
Other deals would last until lunchtime as retailers sought to use the bargains to secure a larger share of the shopper's planned holiday spending.
This year, the retailers will be again be opening early, with JC Penney, the mid-range department store, opening its doors at 4am for the first time in its history.
But not everyone is holding the line.
Wal-mart, for example, launched a pre-emptive Black Friday strike three weeks early, with the largest US retailer using its website to offer customers six "secret" in-store bargains on Friday, November 2.
Circuit City, the electronic retailers, launched a two-day sale online last weekend and has started selling different "Black Friday" bargains on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Sears, the department store, is also offering special discounts over three days before the holiday, available online and in-store after 4pm.
"Retailers are trying to extend the idea of Black Friday to get customers to shop over a longer period," says Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation. "They are using their web sites more to create excitement about their brands over the holidays."
On Thanksgiving Day itself,
Wal-mart is expecting about 10m people to visit its web site, drawn by an increased offering of web-only deals - on a site that last year crashed under the weight of traffic.
It will also attempt to use its web site to drive traffic to its stores, announcing further "secret" in-store deals for both Friday and, for the first time, for Saturday morning.
John Fleming,
Wal-mart's chief merchant, said the deals were aimed at "various kinds of shoppers and some don't want to go out on a Friday".
"But by Saturday most people want to get out of the house and they still want to be able to save like their friends did the day before."
Wal-mart's "secret in-store specials" are themselves a response to the growth of the internet, and to the leaking of printed online inserts on to websites such as BlackFridayInfo.com and Bfads.net.
This year, for the first time,
Wal-mart released an online version of its newspaper inserts on Monday, with
Kmart following on Tuesday. "I think the retailers caved to the popular trend and decided to get the real facts out there," says Janet Hofman, a retail consultant at Accenture.
At the same time,
Wal-mart, Circuit City and other leading retailers are planning special online-only offers in the week following Thanksgiving - starting with "Cyber Monday", which sees a spike in online retail as people return to work after the holidays.
But, in spite of the proliferating deals, a survey by Accenture found that 44 per cent still planned to be shopping on Black Friday.
"As the internet continues to get momentum, it's possible that its going to dilute things. But it is still going to be an important day," adds Ms Hoffman.
Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
First Page
Posted 11/23/2007 3:23 pm
Circuit City had the same GPS on black Friday for $250 + 10% tax but you have to wait for hours in the 23 degree weather for hours while losing sleep. Hmmm... which is better?
