In the United States, Black Friday is the shopping day immediately after Thanksgiving. The day originally got its name because so many people went shopping that it caused traffic accidents and sometimes even violent outbursts.

For the first time the name "Black Friday" sounded on behalf of Earl Apfelbaum, a dealer of rare stamps. In his announcement, he wrote that "The Philadelphia Police Department's nickname for Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving. It's by no means an endearing name. Black Friday officially opens downtown Christmas shopping season, which usually results in severe traffic jams." on the roads, crowds of people on the streets that besiege shopping centers from morning to evening."

The police department coined the phrase to describe the mayhem and mutilation from crowds of pedestrians and vehicular traffic in the downtown area.

When did Black Friday become positive?

Retailers did not like the negative association with the black day of the week. And for good reason. For example, Black Monday is October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22%. It was the highest fall in its history.

This was followed by Black Tuesday the following week, when the stock market lost 11% despite attempts by major investors to support share prices. This event destroyed all investor confidence in the stock market, which in those days was considered the basis of the economy. Many have invested all their savings and remain poor.

No wonder retailers wanted to give a more positive meaning to the term "Black Friday". And for them, the Friday after Thanksgiving is a very profitable day. So they used the name to reflect their success. Accountants use black to express profit in daily entries. Red means losses. Therefore, Black Friday has since meant a profitable Friday for retailers and the country's economy as a whole.

Worst Black Friday ever

However, Black Friday bargain hunters still make life difficult for the police. In 2013, a Chicago Kohl employee was shot dead by police as he ran to his car. He was dragging an officer who was halfway to his car.

The most violent events took place at Wal-Mart in 2012, when two people were gunned down in Talahassee, Florida fighting for a free parking space.

And the electronics department at Wal-Mart seems to be the most dangerous place ever.

In 2011, a woman doused people with pepper spray at a Wal-Mart in Los Angeles. She was trying to get the Wii at 60% off. A year earlier, at Wal-Mart in Sacramento, crowds began pounding on closed doors trying to get discount electronics at 5:30 in the morning.

On Black Friday 2009, another California Wal-Mart, this time in Rancho Cucamonga, requested police assistance in dealing with an out-of-control crowd - and again, the event took place in the early hours of the morning outside the electronics department. The store was quickly closed shortly after neighboring Upland was also closed.

In 2008, a man was trampled to death despite being tall and heavy (195.5 cm and 122.5 kg). He died of asphyxia when mobs broke into another Wal-Mart (this time in New York). At least 2,000 people broke the doors, and the man was driven into the lobby, where he suffocated. 11 other buyers were injured, including a pregnant woman.

So, the police have every right to call such a day "Black Friday".

Americans call Black Friday the fourth Friday in November, which comes after Thanksgiving (an annual holiday that falls on the fourth Thursday in November). It differs from all other Fridays only in that it is the first day of Christmas sales.

Why is Friday called "black"?

For whom this day is truly black, it is for service workers, police officers and janitors. Shops this Friday open much earlier than usual, and everyone who has time to shop on this particular day is guaranteed huge discounts.

The concept of "Black Friday", according to rumors, was born in the 60s of the last century in the Philadelphia state police station, when huge crowds of people, attracted by impressive discounts, stormed stores. That day was not without traffic accidents and violence.

"Black Friday" fights add to the police worries to this day. The facts of the misuse of force have reached such a point that some are already thinking about renaming Black Friday to Shame and Shame Friday.

The most brutal cases of violence are recorded annually in the states of Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Nevada. Particularly ruthless are American citizens shopping at the Wal-Mart chain of department stores. In 2010, for example, this day claimed ten human lives. One hundred and eleven people were injured.

New England, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest are considered to be the safest, and therefore the most suitable areas for Christmas shopping.

During the last decade, the highest number of incidents (more than 57 per cent) were registered in the territories where wholesale. In second place are shopping centers (almost 18 percent). 30 percent of all victims were trampled, and 26.7 percent of the victims received gunshot wounds.

sad statistics

During the sale of 2017, five people were injured among the buyers. Due to the ongoing outbreaks of violent acts in the state of Alabama, local leaders have decided to close shopping centers.

In 2016, three people were shot dead in the states of New Jersey, Nevada and Tennessee. The New Jersey man died of his wounds.

In 2012, two people were gunned down near the Wal-Mart mall in Tallahassee, Florida. They fought for a parking space.

In 2011, Wal-Mart, a consumer electronics supermarket, had to evacuate from Los Angeles. One of the shoppers sprayed peppers into the crowd as she tried to get to the counter that was selling the Nintendo Wii at 60 percent off.

November 2010 shopping mall The Wal-Mart was closed in Sacramento. Crowds of shoppers attracted by discounts on consumer electronics, gathered at the store long before the opening and nearly smashed it.

In 2009, employees of the California Wal-Mart, located on the territory of Rancho Cucamonga, were forced to call a police squad. The store was attacked by a crowd attracted by discounts offered by the appliance department.

The worst Black Friday is November 28, 2008. On this day, an employee of the New York Wal-Mart, whose name was Jdimytai Damour (by the way, a rather large man), was trampled to death by a crowd of about 2,000 people. Customers broke into the store, breaking front door which was closed at the time. Eleven other people, including a pregnant woman, were injured.

Black Friday as a source of income

Small traders consider the Friday following Thanksgiving the most positive day of the year. Retail and consumer spending on this day account for almost 70 percent of the US gross domestic product.

Now it is clear why black ink is traditionally used by accountants and economists to indicate profits (red ink is used to indicate losses).

A few more "black" days in US history...

A similar name was given to Thursday, October 24, 1929 (on this day the Great Depression began). But the "black streak" did not end there. About a week later, an event known as "Black Tuesday" occurred - in one day, stocks on the stock market fell by 11%, and investors lost a significant part of their deposits.

Already familiar to the Western world, it is gradually gaining popularity in Belarus.

What? Where? When?

The tradition of total one-day discounts was born in the USA. Black Friday is the one that comes after Thanksgiving and is considered among Americans one of the main "shopping days" of the year. Usually this day falls on the week from November 23 to 29 and all Christmas sales start from it.

Facts in numbers

• "Black Friday" in stores is usually a very long working day. Some open as early as 4-5 am!
• 57% of shoppers think shopping on this day is a lot of fun!
• Every year, the number of people who come to the Black Friday sales is growing. In 2014 it was 41% of all consumers!

Why Black?

There is a version that if you look deeper into history, for the first time this concept can be found even before the abolition of the slave system in America. It was believed that on Friday after Thanksgiving day traffickers reduced the prices of their "goods". This is "duck". Even if something similar happened before the 19th century, it has nothing to do with the phenomenon that we are facing today.

"Black Friday" in the United States is also called September 24, 1869, when there was a collapse in the financial market: then the price of gold fell by 30%.

The modern concept of Black Friday was invented by the police in the state of Philadelphia in the early 1960s. The problem was that on the Friday after Thanksgiving, they were struggling to cope with crowds of pedestrians and terrible traffic jams. So everyone was in a hurry for the long-awaited sales!

If for the police this day was a headache, then for the sellers - only the beginning of the most profitable season! Therefore, in trading, black has become a symbol of profit.

Black Friday's TOP-6

According to forecasts in 2015, the most popular product categories will be:

1. Electronics. TV, video set-top boxes, tablets, laptops, smartphones.
2. Toys. Children's favorites this year are the heroes from " star wars and Minions.
3. Clothes and accessories
4. Appliances
5. Apple products
6. Greeting Cards

The trend called "Black Friday" is just coming to Belarus. But the school foreign languages Streamline is ready to please you with a special offer! Looking for details on our website and on social media!

BLACK FRIDAY IS COMING SOON!

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On this day, on the fourth Friday of November, mind-blowing sales start in many stores and the most incredible discounts are given, sometimes reaching up to 90%. Black Friday 2018 falls on November 23rd.

Why is Friday black? Where did such a gloomy name and in general the idea of ​​​​such sales come from? It is not known for certain. There are several plausible versions. But all traces lead to the United States, to the distant 19th century.

For the first time, Black Friday marked the beginning of the financial crisis.

Two savvy Wall Street financiers, Jim Fisk (one of the founders of Broadway) and Jay Gould (former owner of Western Union), decided to buy all the gold on the exchanges in order to subsequently make an exorbitant profit when selling it. But their plan was discovered, and when the price of gold peaked, President Ulysses Grant ordered a large share of the government's gold to be put up for auction. The market collapsed, many traders went bankrupt, including Fisk. Gould was lucky: he managed to sell his gold.

It happened on September 24, 1869, and this day was called "Black Friday". The US economy was able to overcome the consequences of this crisis only a few months later.

The salesman-loser came up with discounts and earned millions

Around the same time, the first sellers appeared and began to give big discounts on goods before the Christmas holidays. Americans spent a lot of money on gifts, so the trade before Christmas was always especially profitable.

Frank Woolworth is considered the father of Christmas sales. In 1873, he was 21 years old and worked as a sales assistant in a store in Pennsylvania. He did not work very successfully, since he had already been threatened several times with expulsion. Then Woolworth laid out all the stale goods on the counter and put a sign next to it "Everything for 5 cents." The product was instantly sold out, and the store's revenue increased 6 times that day.

Woolworth knew what to do. He opened his own store, which in 5 years grew into one of the largest retail chains named after the owner - Woolworth's. All goods in these stores were sold at 5 or 10 cents, and sales were regularly held.

In 1913, Woolworth opened the company's headquarters in New York, the 57-story Woolworth Building, which cost him $14 million and was the tallest building in the world until the 1930s.

Black Friday is inextricably linked to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a public holiday and official holiday. Since no one wanted to go to work on the Friday after the holiday, many workers took the day off or suddenly "sick". Therefore, Black Friday began to be called the day on which no one wanted to work. For employers, it was truly a rainy day.

On the same day, Christmas sales started, and many Americans, of course, preferred to spend this day shopping.

In 1966, the US police called such a black day because crowds of people and cars fill the streets, and control has to be tightened.

According to another version, the color of this Friday is associated with the accounting tradition of marking profits in black and losses in red.

If not for Roosevelt, then Black Friday in 2018 would not be November 23rd, but November 30th

Since 1864, Thanksgiving in the United States has been celebrated on the last Thursday of November - it could be the 4th or 5th in a row. In 1939 Turkey Day fell on the fifth Thursday. The Great Depression continued, the economy had not yet fully recovered. And then there's also the season of Christmas sales was reduced (you remember that they started right after the holiday).

Then the association retailers appealed to President Franklin Roosevelt with a request to fix the fourth Thursday of the month for the holiday. The President went forward and issued a corresponding decree. So Thanksgiving got its second name - Franksgiving Day.

Black Friday has become a national holiday with more than half of Americans participating

In the 1980s, retailers decided to give expression more positive meaning. This is how Black Friday appeared in the form that we are all used to. Attempts have been made to call this day "Big Friday" to get rid of the negative connotation, but to no avail.

Over time, Black Friday after Thanksgiving has become a big national holiday that has spread around the world. Shops on this day open earlier and earlier, some at 4 or 5 in the morning, some at midnight, and some right on Thursday.

Therefore, the most desperate shopaholics rush to the shops either immediately after the festive meal, or instead of it.
Several factors contributed to the success of Black Friday. Firstly, the end of November is the time to start thinking about Christmas gifts and at the same time there is still time to order something online and get it delivered on time. Secondly, Friday between the holiday and the day off is the best time to spend it on shopping. More than half of Americans are participating in this discount madness.

Black Friday often lives up to its name: a lot of people have suffered in the war for discounts

Discounts are a great way for stores to attract customers and set an annual record in profits. Contrary to popular belief, not only unpopular goods are sold at discounted prices, but also quite popular ones, and even new ones.

Typically, goods are swept off the shelves in a matter of minutes. To stir up interest and create excitement, stores put up attractive price a limited batch, therefore, as they say, whoever had time, he ate it. There are many funny cases that buyers talk about.

One man spent three nights at the entrance to Wal-Mart, with a tent, a thermos and sandwiches, hoping to buy a plasma TV. When the doors opened, he ran into the store one of the first. However, by the time he got to the TV section, all 15 pieces had already been snapped up by more enterprising rivals: they entered the doors that were located closer to the department and opened 10 seconds earlier.

In pursuit of profit, buyers do not shun anything. Fight over the last copy of the goods? Easily! Spray pepper spray in the face of rivals? Please! To snatch the box from the hands of the one who was more fortunate? With no doubt! They remember the case when two old women quarreled over a regular $10 calculator that was sold at a 50% discount.

There have been more serious accidents, resulting in injuries or even death to customers or store employees.

What do we have?

The tradition of Black Friday was picked up around the world, and in the early 2010s it also came to Russia.

Fortunately, in our country, Black Friday does not have such devastating consequences as in the United States. Russia took only the most pleasant: only discounts, only sales. Yes, and it takes place mainly on the Internet: there is no need to set up camp at the store and fight for the last product. The most pleasant discounts can also be obtained when buying on the Internet - for example, if you apply citylink coupon .

According to the results of retail network research, it is most profitable to buy electronics and household appliances. And save even more promo code Eldorado. No one will stop us from enjoying discounts and pleasant shopping without leaving home.

By the way, Rospotrebnadzor warned that misleading customers is unacceptable. The seller is obliged to clearly and clearly formulate the conditions for the purchase of goods for the promotion.

It often happens that, succumbing to the hype, you buy something, and the next day you realize that you don’t need it at all. In this case, even if you have purchased a product at a significant discount, you have the right to return the product you did not like, did not fit or defective within 14 days, not counting the day of purchase.

« Black Friday 2018” will last for three days, including weekends, and in some stores all week. However, it’s still worth hurrying: the most attractive offers end first. No one can guarantee that desired item will not be taken from under your nose. More than half of Russians are already counting the hours before the start of sales.

Photo: Hendrik Osula

"Black Friday" is the time of wild queues in stores and obsession with discounts. This is not always the time of joy from profitable purchases, because in order to open the buyer's pocket, many tricks have long been invented. Although Black Friday became the apogee of the consumer fever, from time immemorial, some people have learned to find discounts, while others have learned to cheat. "Gazeta.Ru" tells how the sales were born, and why the psychology of discounts is so effective.

On November 23, a large-scale sale "Black Friday" starts, from which the season of Christmas discounts begins - the "hottest" time for merchants. This phenomenon appeared more than 50 years ago in. There, the discount holiday begins the day after Thanksgiving and takes place throughout the country.

There are different versions of why this November Friday was called “black”. One of the most compelling is that black ink marked profits on the ledgers and red ink losses.

The first sales appeared much earlier. They acquired a large-scale scope in the USA and Europe at the end of the 19th century. It is believed that this happened thanks to Frank Woolworth, an assistant salesman in a small American store. Then there were no price tags, sellers had to evaluate the buyer and, relying on intuition, offer a price. Due to shyness and fear of communication, the guy’s trade did not work out. Desperate, Frank displayed the goods, each signing its price. Taking out the stale goods, he put it on the counter with the inscription: "Everything for 5 cents."

The first sale was, of course, a resounding success. People simply swept away the goods, and the proceeds could not but rejoice. Such an inventive mind could only go further. Indeed, Woolworth soon opened a whole network of stores in which most of the goods were sold at a price of 5 cents - Five cent market.

There is another version of the appearance of sales, associated with the merchants in the 19th century and a well-known phraseological unit. A raisin merchant once offered a merchant to buy the last raisins cheaply. Without knowing it, he gave the merchant good idea- sell leftovers at the cheapest price. The merchant quickly got rich, and the rest began to follow him.

Regardless of the country, you can trace the sales seasons with discounts. Seasonal Sale starts a month before the end of the season and lasts 3-4 weeks. Discounts during this period can increase from 15-20% to 50-70%. Pre-holiday sales are characterized by the fact that they usually take place 10-15 days before the holiday. Then the price returns to the original level.

swindle the consumer

Of course, in times of rush demand, it has become easier for some unscrupulous sellers to use some tricks to outwit the buyer. It happened that stores sold goods at a sale for more than before the discount was announced.

TOP

“The maximum discount a store can afford is 30%. If there are more discounts, then the matter is unclean. It happens that mythical prices are written on the price tags and a discount is calculated based on them, or a couple of weeks before the start of the sale they quietly raise prices, and then they start the sale with pomp, ”writes Roman Kirsanov in the book“ Everything about personal finance: ways to save money on all occasions." In fact, a 70 percent discount is only possible on defective, unsold, stale or discounted goods, he says.

In addition, in the department with a sale there may be things without discounts. When your eyes run wide from the number of goods and people, you can get confused.

Often during the sale there is a task to sell stale goods, not always good quality or in good condition. On Black Friday, household appliances are especially actively bought, they are checked in a hurry, and these can also be poor quality appliances or after repair.

Another trouble is the usual ignorance of their rights or the conditions of the action. “In the turmoil, many buyers become victims of deception by unscrupulous sellers who do not fully communicate the terms of the promotions to the buyer,” warns. The seller is obliged to tell in an accessible form about the goods and the conditions for their sale.

“It is also important for the buyer to know that any product purchased on the promotion is subject to return and exchange, in the same manner as normally sold similar products. In particular, if non-food product of proper quality did not fit the consumer in shape, size, style, color, size or configuration, then in accordance with the law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, the consumer has the right to exchange within 14 days, not counting the day of purchase, ”reminds the department.

The fever has reached the internet

Black Friday has grown so much that the Monday after it has been called Cyber ​​Monday, and it's time for online sales. And in this environment, fraud is not new. “Cyber ​​Monday” has not yet arrived, and Group-IB experts have already discovered more than 400 clone sites copying the popular AliExpress online trading platform, and another two hundred sites created under famous brands and online stores, the press service of the company said. Fraudsters thus try to sell counterfeit goods, as well as steal money from bank cards users paying for purchases online.

The damage for one buyer can reach tens of thousands of rubles. Up to 200,000 people can visit one such pseudo-site every month. Let's hope that this year the vigilance of buyers will win over the cunning of merchants and the sophistication of scammers.