Yahoo News Explains: Why do we call it Black Friday?
Black Friday is a consumer’s saving grace. Many attribute the term “Black Friday” to retailers who would turn a profit, or get “in the black” for the year, with holiday sales.
But historians believe the term actually originated in Philadelphia, with an entirely different meaning.
In the 1950s, shoppers would swarm the city after Thanksgiving and before the big Army-Navy game to prepare for the holidays. Police, cab drivers and anyone affected by purchasers taking over their city called the chaotic day “Black Friday” to show their disdain.
It wasn’t until the late 1980s that retailers latched onto the phrase as a way of encouraging people to shop early.
Today, Black Friday is more than just a singular day. It’s a four-day shopping extravaganza, including Small Business Saturday/Sunday and Cyber Monday.
Last year, online shopping on Thanksgiving and Black Friday itself totaled $7.9 billion. Adobe estimates that this year the five-day holiday will account for one-fifth of all online holiday revenue.
But for those heading to brick-and-mortar locations, be careful.
According to the Daily Mail, 10 people died shopping on Black Friday in the last 10 years, with many more injured.
A 2014 letter from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration advised business owners “to take safety precautions to protect workers who may be injured.”
With Black Friday causing all this damage, maybe 1950s Philadelphians were right about the name after all.
