Black Friday, An Overview

Since the 1960s, retailers have been referring to the day after Thanksgiving as “Black Friday.” This indicates the beginning of the holiday season, but also the day in which retailers try to draw in as large of a profit as possible. Companies can make close to 40 percent of their annual income on this day. So with many American’s wallets being tight and the economy not seeing any significant changes for the better, many Americans were aggressively shopping for deals this year. At the Mall of America in Minnesota, there were 15,000 people lined up outside by midnight Thursday, and the mall was expected to exceeded last year’s total of 200,000 shoppers (according to the New York Times).

With the increase in shoppers and many stores opening earlier this year, you had to be prepared for marathon crowds if you were out shopping. Having personally worked Black Friday, I witnessed power outages, people fainting, and mobs of angry and aggressive customers just within the first few hours. There were also numerous reports of violence in California. A woman at a Wal-Mart used pepper spray to get first dibs on a Nintendo Wii, causing 20 people to have to be treated for minor injuries. Also, in San Leandro, California a man was shot in a parking lot during an attempted robbery. At Union Square in San Francisco, Occupy Wall Street protesters staged a sit-in outside Macy’s to protest supporting large corporation greed, causing two-hour traffic delays and congestion.

However, despite all the mayhem, shoppers were still buying in large amounts. According to NPR, the Thanksgiving shopping weekend last year accounted for 12.1 percent of overall holiday sales. Black Friday made up about half of that. This year buyers spent $11.4 billion at retail stores and malls, up nearly $1 billion from last year. It was the largest amount ever spent on Black Friday, and the biggest year-over-year increase since 2007.

As Scott Simon wrote for NPR, “Even if you decry commercialism in a season that celebrates spirit, faith and family, it's hard to root against sales that could create more jobs when the unemployment rate is above 9 percent.” This puts a new perspective on crazed shoppers and the retailers that seem to promote the frenzy. Shoppers are theoretically out shopping for others, and hopefully with good intentions. Although it does seem that next year on Black Friday, a bullet-proof vest will be a requirement.