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From “Sick Day” to Shopping Extravaganza
Black Friday, now synonymous with retail sales and holiday deals, didn’t start as a shopping day at all. The term dates back to the early 1950s when factory managers noticed an odd trend: employees called in “sick” the day after Thanksgiving more than any other day. This gave many workers a coveted four-day weekend without touching their vacation time. The trend became so widespread that “Black Friday” first referred to this unofficial, extended break.
But by the 1960s, “Black Friday” gained new meaning. As holiday shopping grew into a lucrative season for retailers, the Friday after Thanksgiving was a day when stores saw traffic – and profits – soar. Retailers finally moved “into the black” financially, recovering from the leaner months before the holiday surge. By this time, Black Friday referred less to workers’ “sick day” antics and more to stores’ profitable day.
Of note, the term “Black Friday” may have originally conjured images of chaotic traffic, particularly in Philadelphia, where police used it in the 1960s to describe the massive crowds and snarled traffic that accompanied the start of the holiday shopping season.
The Role of Cars, Highways, and Suburban Life
Remember, however, that in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the rise of the automobile and the expansion of the Interstate Highway System reshaped American family life. Cars became not just practical but cultural cornerstones of suburban living. Families could travel further with ease, leading to a new tradition: Thanksgiving road trips. And because people traveled long distances to visit relatives or take extended weekend vacations, especially with the newly accessible four-day Thanksgiving break, they had an extra day — Friday — in a new town, and went shopping.
For local retailers to encourage shopping and to drive these holiday newcomers into their local stores, they used newspaper circulars, a long a staple of local advertising, as the go-to solution. These early ads, strategically placed in the Friday morning papers, brought attention to these exclusive deals, promoting in-store traffic. The Friday paper became a herald of deals, enticing customers to hit the stores as soon as they returned from their Thanksgiving festivities.
The Making of a Shopping Phenomenon
This combination of Friday newspaper ads, a long weekend, and an established shopping season set the stage for the phenomenon of “Black Friday” shopping. By the 1970s, major department stores were hosting “doorbuster” deals, opening early to accommodate the growing crowds. Retailers competed fiercely to attract consumers, who were by now conditioned to expect special offers on this day. From deep discounts to free merchandise with purchase, Black Friday took on a life of its own, evolving into an event that spurred consumers to get out early and shop till they dropped.
Consumer Culture and the Modern Black Friday
Over the years, Black Friday has transformed into a national shopping spectacle. By the 1980s and 1990s, it became cemented as an American holiday tradition, and with the rise of major chain stores, Black Friday spread even further. Store openings got earlier each year, leading to midnight and even Thanksgiving evening launches in more recent years.
With the advent, and then proliferation of, the Internet in the 1990s, major retailers and local shops, together, had to face the burgeoning trend of shopping online and the eventual slow, steady decline of mall traffic in the 2000s.
Black Friday Today
With the major shift to online sales, now retailers that once competed for foot traffic by advertsing circulars, today's modern e-commerce brands are competing for web traffic through email and digital ads across a variety of platform. Door Busters have been replaced with limited edition, early offerings to VIPs, and even sales that begin on Thanksgiving (or before!) and continue for a long weekend through Cyber Monday.
The history of Black Friday isn’t just about deals, though. It’s a story of shifting family dynamics, the rise of the American car culture, and the role of retailers in shaping how Americans spend their holiday weekends. With roots in mid-century America, the day after Thanksgiving has become a fixture in our lives, merging the old traditions of family travel and post-holiday shopping with the modern ritual of finding the best deals – and the thrill of the hunt.
So, what started as a “sick day” for workers and a traffic headache for police has evolved into a day of retail frenzy, marked by early-morning lines and eager onlineshoppers, but Black Friday remains a cultural mainstay, representing not just consumerism but a uniquely American holiday tradition.
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