Emails, advertisements and posters in many shop windows have been reminding you of the Black Friday deals to look out for as the day approaches. But, exactly, what is Black Friday?
This year’s Black Friday occurs on Friday, November 25th, drawing inspiration from America’s biggest discounted-shopping day of the year.
Black Friday happens in America every year the day after they celebrate Thanksgiving, and it comes at a useful time for consumers to purchase goods as the weeks lead up to Christmas.
According to Britannica, the name “Black Friday” stems from a term police officers began to use in 1960s America to describe the chaos of large numbers of tourists coming into the cities to do their holiday shopping.
The term wasn’t associated with positive retail experiences until the 1980s, when “Black Friday” began to refer to the day that shops in America started to see an increase in profits close to the festive season.
Taking advantage of consumers’ habits, businesses offered significant sales on their products for one day to draw people in even more.
Over the years, retailers realised the effect it would have on their profits if other businesses were significantly lowering costs for a day or offering special deals.
As the competition grew, shops expanded their Black Friday deals to begin days before the actual day, and they now even happen weeks before the official day.
With much of our shopping experiences shifting online in recent years, you no longer need to go in-store and wait in long lines to get the best deals.
Black Friday in South Africa shows a variety of established retailers launching deals both on and before the big sale day.
Some businesses have even been running sales all month, with their biggest deals promising to come on Black Friday itself.
As reported by IOL, Debt Rescue’s recent survey reflects our country’s dire financial situation, with results showing that 84% of consumers say they will be using the Black Friday sales to look for everyday necessities.
While in America it seems as though the day is often regarded as a time to go on shopping sprees and indulge in luxuries, for most of our country, the deals help many people out with food and toiletries in a difficult financial climate.
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