Are You Ready for Black Friday?

Now that Halloween has come and gone in the blink of an eye we start preparing and anticipating the holiday season. Next up on the roster is BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!!!! This year Black Friday falls on November 23 and it’s coming up fast.

Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the US since 2005. The term is said to have originated in Philadelphia in 1961 being used to describe heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Over 20 years later the phrase became more popular representing the point in the year when retailers would begin to turn a profit going from being “in the red” to “in the black.”

For years retailers would open early at 6am but by the late 2000s most had crept up to 4:00/5:00 am. I don’t know about you but I personally remember well when the reports of violence occurring between shoppers on Black Friday began. Since 2006 there have been 10 reported deaths and 111 injuries in the United States, some people will just do anything to save a buck; including camping out in front of stores to be first in line for a great deal.

Since the early 2000s retailers have been attempting to introduce the practice to other countries around the world. The fourth Friday in November has long been touted as the busiest shopping day of the year. However, from 1993 – 2001 Black Friday ranked from 5th – 10th on the list of busiest shopping days, the last Saturday before Christmas most often taking first place.

In relation to Canada, the southern Ontarians began crossing the border for their low low prices first. In 2008 several major retailers in Canada offered Black Friday deals to encourage keeping our Canadian dollars local. The year 2012 marked the biggest Black Friday to date in Canada. Before the big event of Black Friday the most comparable holiday was Boxing day in terms of big sales and rock bottom deals.

So in 13 days when you wake up in the morning, fire up your credit cards, hop on the internet or camp out in front of your favourite store to get the best bang for your buck before the holidays begin. Spend, spend, spend!