It’s that time of year again to be thankful to the brave retail employees who dare work on Black Friday. The Friday after Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of great deals, both in stores and online. It also marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. The popularity of online retailers, primarily Amazon, have decreased the amount of people shopping physically within the store. This means that Amazon packagers and delivery drivers are way more busy as well, compared to any other day of the year.
Black Friday is notable for increased violence among shoppers and increased stress for retail employees. It makes for interesting news stories and funny viral videos of people fighting over the last television set for example. Statistically, since 2006, there have been 117 injuries on this day in the United States. I guess you need to do whatever it takes to get that special item on sale.
A common Black Friday tradition is to camp out overnight outside of the store in order to get ahead of the line and have a better chance at getting the items they desire. Over the years, stores have begun to open earlier and earlier because of this. Some even opening at midnight. Because of the deals promoted on this day, shoppers have a tendency to buy things that they don’t necessarily need, like a new phone or computer, for example, when the one they have works just fine. This practice contributes to more environmental waste, and consequentially, contributes to climate change.
The earliest usage of the term “Black Friday” was in the 1950s by police in Philadelphia and Rochester to describe the crowds and traffic congestion that took place on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Historically, this Friday has been the day retailers have given their employees the day off after the holiday. Competing retailers capitalized on this to promote discounts and deals to draw in business while other stores were closed.
With this in mind, be thankful for what you already have and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families, and don’t be too irresponsible with your money spending on Friday. Have a great four and a half day weekend, my friends!