The biggest shopping day of the year Black Friday is an indispensable activity after Thanksgiving in the US, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia. In recent years, this festival has spread to many other countries around the world.In Vietnam, Black Friday is no longer a stranger.
Many people think that the word "Black" in Black Friday comes from the English term "in the black" used to refer to the state of a successful retailer, making a profit after a dismal business year. In reality, however, the tradition of this "doing-it-yourself" day has its origins as bleak as its name suggests.
According to The History, the term "Black Friday" originally had nothing to do with holiday shopping as it does now, but rather a difficult period in American history. The phrase "Black Friday" was first used on September 24, 1869. At that time, two famous Wall Street investors at that time, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, relied on their relationship with the government to speculate on gold hoards, then push the price of gold to sky high in order to make a profit. benefit yourself. This incident has disrupted the gold market, pushing the US into a financial crisis for many years.
According to the same site, the familiar meaning of Black Friday as we know it today was first used in 1950. At that time, police in the state of Philadelphia used this phrase to describe the chaos that took place. after Thanksgiving when residents and tourists flock to the state to watch the football game between the Army and Navy forces that takes place every Saturday here. Fans crammed each other into downtown retail stores to shop, causing a chaotic scene. During these days, the Philadelphia State Police not only do not have a day off, but also have to work overtime to disperse crowds and traffic jams.
By 1961, Black Friday was "fever" in Philadelphia, so much so that merchants and public relations experts in the state tried to change people's perception of the meaning of Black Friday by changing the name. "Big Friday" is used to refer to a big shopping day. However, efforts to eliminate the negative connotation of Black Friday were unsuccessful and "Big Friday" gradually faded. In the late 1980s, retailers found a way to revive the term Black Friday and propagate it as a bargain shopping festival, the biggest sale of the year, not as negative as before. Since then, the day after Thanksgiving marks the opening of American stores. On this day, retailers offer discounts to attract customers. Stores opened earlier to welcome a larger influx of customers shopping after Thanksgiving.
In recent years, another story about the origin of Black Friday has emerged, which has adversely affected the holiday. Accordingly, some believe that Black Friday appeared in the 1800s when plantation owners in the American South rushed to buy slaves at low prices after Thanksgiving. This story led to some consumers standing up to call for a retail boycott.
However, over the years, the attraction of Black Friday has not shown any signs of cooling down when large supermarkets and retail stores simultaneously deeply discounted tens of thousands of items. Popular discounts range from 10 - 30%, or even 60% to sell a lot of goods. Some stores also offer deep discounts of up to 80-90% for some customers who come early or for common items such as electronics, refrigeration, home appliances, furniture, fashion...
That's why, every year on Black Friday, hundreds of people jostle at supermarkets and retail stores to grab quality but affordable items.
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