By Hannah Barber, Newest Addition to The NavCo Chronicle
In the 1950s, law enforcement officials in Philadelphia employed the term Black Friday to characterize the hectic environment that ensued after Thanksgiving, as an influx of suburban shoppers and tourists flocked to the city in anticipation of the annual Army-Navy football game scheduled for that Saturday. According to Britannica, this created large crowds, traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues, leading the officers to work extra hours. By 1961, Black Friday had become widely recognized in Philadelphia, prompting local merchants and community advocates to attempt to rebrand it as “Big Friday” in hopes of shedding its negative connotations. However, the term did not achieve nationwide recognition until much later and yet remained relatively uncommon across the country during that time. In the late 1980s, retailers successfully redefined Black Friday, transforming it into a positive event for both themselves and their customers. As a result, the original negative associations began to fade into obscurity. Since then, this one-day sales extravaganza has evolved into a four-day event, giving rise to additional “retail holidays” like Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
Alongside the transformation of Black Friday, a noteworthy initiative called Small Business Saturday was launched in 2010. This annual event, taking place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, serves as a vital opportunity to celebrate and support the small businesses that are the backbone of our nation’s economy. This encourages Americans across the country to support local small businesses. The day infuses money back into our local economies, promotes vibrant and diverse communities, and celebrates the important role of small businesses in the national economy.
As a result of the growing prominence of online shopping, the National Retail Federation (NRF) introduced Cyber Monday in 2005. Consumers grew accustomed to using virtual shopping carts, leaving traditional ones behind. However, e-commerce retailers often felt excluded from the annual revenue spikes that brick-and-mortar stores experienced on Black Friday. “With the growth of online shopping, online-only players like Amazon were looking for a way to capitalize on Thanksgiving weekend sales,” says Katherine Cullen, the NRF’s vice president of industry and consumer insights. “The Monday after Thanksgiving became dedicated to online sales, differentiating it from Black Friday.” Since the first Cyber Monday, it has become the largest day for online sales each year. As a growing number of Americans choose to shop online and retailers continue to offer Black Friday promotions both online and in stores, the boundary between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is increasingly difficult to define.