The Friday after Thanksgiving is informally referred to as Black Friday. It marks the commencement of the Christmas shopping season. Many retail outlets offer huge discounts on a variety of products. It was traditionally practised by retailers only in the United States of America but now it has spread to the rest of the world and our country as well.
The day after Thanksgiving marks a boost in sales taking the businesses from being loss making (in the red) to being profitable (in the black), hence the term Black Friday. However this was not the original reference to the term Black Friday. Way back in 1952 factory workers would not show up for work on the day after Thanksgiving (Friday) to make it a 4 day weekend. But it did not become a common reference in that year. The phrase did not catch on till 1960 in Philadelphia. Massive crowds from the suburban towns came to Philadelphia to start their Christmas shopping. The Annual Navy Football Game held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving was also a big attraction. The sudden and large influx of tourists on this day created chaos in the city, causing traffic jams, accidents, instances of shoplifting and general disorderly behaviour. The Policemen hence started referring to this day as Black Friday and this caught on.
The city retailers however did not consider this time as difficult or black as it was a boost to their sales. They started putting a more positive spin on this phrase. They started propagating the red to black narrative highlighting the loss to profit scenario. They started offering discounts and freebies to attract customers. More recently the entire weekend has been given a term to promote sales. Black Friday is followed by Small Business Saturday, encouraging people to shop from smaller retailers. Cyber Monday was started much later to promote online shopping and Giving Tuesday to encourage charitable donations.
The phrase Black Friday was capitalised by the large national retail chains to increase their sales. It has now morphed into a huge shopping event attractive to customers and beneficial to the businesses. This year it is falling on the 25th of November and several retail giants are geared up for the large sales. Stocking up on a variety of goods and products, hiring extra staff for the retail floors and warehouses, in anticipation of the biggest commercial event of the year.
Even brands like Apple which don’t believe in discounts , have offers on older models of their products. In recent years that is 2015 Amazon started a Black Friday sale even in July naming it Prime Day. It repeated this trend in 2016 and 2017. Soon other brands started imitating this trend and offering similar deals.
The trend which was limited to retail sales has now become very popular with online sales as well. E Commerce brands are promoting their inhouse brands more during this season. This Black Friday falling on 25 November 2022 the online offers in India are plentiful. Amazon for instance is offering discounts on mobile phones, home appliances, laptops, cosmetics , electronics etc. To make the best of the discount season online shoppers need to prepare themselves.
Following are some most popular electronic brands in India and majority of the being Chinese companies that set up manufacturing in India.
- Xiaomi
- Realme
- Samsung
- Vivo
- OnePlus
- Follow retailers you like on social media to keep yourself updated on the products available
- Compare prices of products from various retailers
- Wish list or bookmark the items you like as products can go out of stock fast
- Set a budget for yourself so as not to overspend
- Look out for hidden costs like delivery or packaging charges before making a purchase
- Keep the receipts and packaging in case the product needs to be returned
Here’s wishing you all a Happy Shopping Weekend! Make wise choices and enjoy yourselves.
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