28 November 2019 - What does Black Friday even mean?
What Does ‘Black Friday’ Even Mean Anymore?
Vanessa Friedman (The New York Times, 27/11/2019)
“Black Friday Sale Starts Now!” “Shop Black Friday Deals Now!” “Gear Up, It’s Black Friday” — so read the emails in my inbox and the banners on my search engine.
Well, yes, you shrug. What do you expect? It’s that time of year.
Except when I received said emails, and said banners began to appear, it was not, in fact, the day after Thanksgiving. It was not that day when, in order to kick-start the holiday shopping season, brands and department stores cut their prices and everyone rushes out to buy, buy, buy.
Black Friday History: The Dark True Story Behind The Name
Casey Bond (The Huffington Post, 11/11/2019)
Maybe you’re familiar with the wholesome origin story of Black Friday. It goes something like this: For years, tryptophan-happy shoppers would flood local shops and malls the day after Thanksgiving, and that surge in spending was enough to put retailers “in the black” for the year. Therefore, the Friday following Thanksgiving was dubbed “Black Friday,” and it became the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.
Except that wasn’t always how the phrase was used. Before the retail industry put a tidy little spin on Black Friday, it had a much more sinister meaning. Here’s the real reason the term “Black Friday” exists.
5 Examples Of How Black Friday Is Out And Consumer Mindfulness Is In
Blake Morgan (Forbes, 26/11/2019)
The rush to find the perfect gift, the lines around the store, the stampedes to get the best deals. For years, chaos has defined Black Friday as brands compete for excited customers and often put their employees at risk. Every year we hear about both customer and employee injuries as a result of shopping. But now, more companies are shifting their focus to mindfulness and making a difference.
Modern customers care about more than just things. Firstly not everyone wants to spend their day off of work on a screen or fighting traffic in a store. They might prefer playing games with family or enjoying a quiet walk with their dog. Many customers now consider the environmental costs of their purchases and want to make sustainable choices. More customers than ever prefer spending money on experiences over things. The growing obsession with sales and materialism is counter to the beliefs of many customers who focus more on quality than quantity.
Black Friday UK: just one in 20 discounts are genuine, research finds
Patrick Collinson (The Guardian, 26/11/2019)
Just one in 20 Black Friday deals are genuine, according to damning research by Which? that concluded the annual shopping event was “all hype”.
The consumer group price checked 83 items on sale on Black Friday last year and found that nearly all were cheaper or available for the same price at other times of the year.
A Samsung soundbar was a Currys PC World Black Friday deal last year at £299. But the researchers found that the price dropped by a further £49 during the month after Black Friday and was priced at £279.97 at least 13 times in the following six months.