origin

The earliest evidence suggests that "Black Friday" was applied in a shopping context on the day after Thanksgiving. The term originated in Philadelphia to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that occurred the day after Thanksgiving. This usage dates back to at least 1961. More than two decades later, as the term became more common, the popular interpretation was that Black Friday was the beginning of a year when retailers began to make profits and their accounts moved from the red to the black.

Since the 21st century, some retailers in the United States have attempted to introduce the retail "Black Friday" to other countries in the world.

Amazon Black Friday meaning

Amazon's "Black Friday" means that the American Christmas shopping generally starts after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November every year. Therefore, its second day, which is the fourth Friday of November, is also the first day of American shopping. On this day, American shopping malls will launch a large number of discounts and preferential activities to carry out the last large-scale promotion at the end of the year. Because American shopping malls generally record deficits in red and profits in black, the crazy shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving has greatly increased the profits of shopping malls, so it is called Black Friday by merchants. Merchants hope to make the most profit for the year through the Christmas shopping that starts on this day.

Historical time

In 2016, Black Friday in the United States is November 25, which is the fourth Friday in November.

In 2017, Amazon Black Friday started on November 24, 2017 Beijing time.

In 2018, Black Friday online shopping week: November 19th – November 26th.

Amazon announced that its 2019 Black Friday promotion will last for more than a week, from 00:01 on Friday, November 22 to 23:59 on Friday, November 29. This is also the first time that the Black Friday shopping season has entered Japan.

Black Friday Features on Japan

Amazon's "Black Friday" promotion in Japan also has a different style from that in foreign countries. For example, in this promotion, Amazon launched three categories of products: "Black in the name", "Black in color", and "Black in price", which are very distinctive.

For example, products with the “black color” include various razors, coffee machines, black TVs, black clothes and other products. The promotion form is very novel.

U.S. Retail Sales

grand occasion

Every year when Black Friday comes, both merchants and consumers enter a state of near-madness. Many consumers regard this day as a golden time to prepare Christmas gifts or buy bargains. Many people queue up in the middle of the night, or even set up tents and camp several days in advance, in order to grab the goods they want the moment the store opens.

Every year, Black Friday is also the time when major shopping websites receive the most visits. Mainstream chain websites such as Boots, Game, Curry's, etc., under the astronomical number of visits from a large number of consumers, their fragile servers are almost paralyzed in minutes.

dispute

1. Increased violence and trampling

On Black Friday in 2014, surveillance footage from stores across the UK and US showed frantic customers scrambling to buy goods, creating chaos and even beatings and trampling.

2. Issues regarding employee compensation and working hours

In the early morning of November 24, 2017, local trade unions in Italy announced that employees of Amazon's Italian branch were planning to strike on "Black Friday" to protest against their dissatisfaction with pay and working conditions.

References

• 1. Black Friday: Sina.com [cited on 2018-03-04T16:00:00.000Z]
• 2. Regarding employee compensation and working hours on Black Friday: Phoenix.com [cited on 2018-03-04T16:00:00.000Z]
• 3. US retail sales: Wikipedia [reference date 2018-03-04T16:00:00.000Z]
• 4. Regarding the violence and trampling incidents on Black Friday: NetEase News [cited on 2018-03-04T16:00:00.000Z]
• 5. "Black Friday" enters Japan Amazon for the first time to participate in the Black Friday promotion: Tencent.com [cited on 2019-11-15T16:00:00.000Z]