Black Friday to Cyber Monday is one of the busiest shopping periods of the year as consumers try to maximize the weekend’s deals. These days after Thanksgiving are ways for many businesses to offer huge deals and discounts. Just last year, in 2023, Black Friday shoppers spent just under 10 billion dollars at different stores. This brings millions of customers to stores over these many days of shopping.
In recent years, Black Friday has been followed by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. With these shopping days, and others, on the rise more than ever, here is your ultimate guide to this year’s holiday shopping season.
History of Black Friday
Black Friday has quickly become one of the busiest shopping days in the United States and even the world. National chain stores traditionally offer limited money-saving specials on various goods to lure shoppers into stores while also offering similar deals online.
Many believe that the term Black Friday comes from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally let them make a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue.
According to Brittanica, the term originated in the early 1960s when Philadelphia police used it to describe the chaos caused by many suburban tourists arriving for holiday shopping. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues.
The phrase “Black Friday,” used to signify a positive boost in retail sales, didn’t grow nationwide until the late 1980s when merchants started to spread the red-to-black profit story. Black Friday was described as the day that stores began to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States.
Beyond Black Friday
In recent years, Black Friday has been followed by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes online shopping. Others include Giving Tuesday and Green Monday.
- Cyber Monday is an annual shopping holiday held on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Online retailers offer customers a range of savings and bargain opportunities largely as part of holiday shopping. According to Investopedia, online sales increased 189% compared to an average sales day in October 2023. Cyber Monday is expected to soar to $12.4 billion in online spending this year, breaking e-commerce records. It made 2023 Cyber Monday the biggest online e-commerce day of all time.
- Small Business Saturday falls on the day after Black Friday. This is generally the last Saturday in November. This day was launched in 2010 as a way to pull consumers away from large retailers and draw them to shop with local small businesses. Oakmont Junior Sam Belcher’s dad is an avid shopper and has gone shopping on this day for as long as he can remember. He talked about how great it is to shop at these small businesses. Since moving here from the Boston area, he has been able to appreciate these smaller stores a lot more. “I just love the idea of giving back to the community by buying these products from the small, local Ashburnham businesses.”
- Giving Tuesday falls on the Tuesday after Cyber Monday. This day was first introduced to consumers in 2012 as a way to promote charitable donations during the holiday season and counter the Thanksgiving season’s commercialization and consumer culture. Many large corporations, such as Google and Facebook, have since become partners for Giving Tuesday, with pledges to match donations made by employees and the general public.
- Green Monday was reportedly created in 2007 by eBay and is commonly known as the second Cyber Monday because of its focus on online shopping. More specifically, it represents the boost in very last-minute shopping for the holiday season. This day occurs on the second Monday of December.
What are people buying?
139 million Americans specifically bought holiday gifts on Black Friday 2023, and up to 166 million (almost 50% of the US) made a retail purchase. While it comes as no surprise, electronics are the most sought-after products of the holiday season. Clothing apparel, furniture, groceries, and toys are the other hot sellers of Black Friday.
Oakmont Regional High School has a common trend with most people spending a majority of their money on clothing items, food, and electronics.
How much are we spending?
As a nation, we spend billions of dollars yearly on this day of deals. According to Capital One Shopping, American consumers spend almost $10 billion shopping online on Black Friday; with the addition of in-store spending, U.S. retail revenue exceeds $20 billion. This graph shows the amount spent on Black Friday from 2020 until today. It also shows the projected spending in the next few years.
At Oakmont Regional, the average spent by Black Friday shoppers was about $200. About 70% of the people surveyed have been shopping on this day but most who have gone thought it was definitely worth it and got their money’s worth.
Green Friday: An eco-friendly alternative to Black Friday
Green Friday is an anti-Black Friday movement started in 2015 to create awareness about the negative impacts of society’s shopping habits. The first day of this event was in Canada in 1992 and was referred to as “Buy Nothing Day”. This movement encourages consumers to embrace ethical and mindful shopping habits by buying either from sustainable or ethical brands, or by not buying anything at all.
It is a movement to make sure brands give back to the environment. Oakmont Senior Niko Lussier had many things to say about it. “I feel that Black Friday shopping has become less about the prices and deals, and more about the companies’ greediness. When they “change” the price, they are just keeping it the same and saying it’s a discount and people are forced to believe it.”
Best Sales for 2024
Walmart: Walmart is the nationwide number 1 spot for Black Friday shopping. It offers a variety of discounts for electronics, fashion, home goods, toys, and more. Walmart offers deals from November 25th until December 1st, so be prepared for many people there when you go. They also offer up to 50% off of Walmart+ for new customers who join during this time. Walmart’s average discount percentage is estimated to be 37% off for Friday
Amazon: Amazon.com is the best place to go if you need literally anything. They started offering deals online on November 21st and will offer them up to December 1st. Amazon has some of the best deals on anything you need for yourself or others. Amazon’s average discount percentage is estimated to be 32% off.
Target: Target offers many different online and in-person deals. These are starting on November 17th and going to November 23rd. Target offers deals and discounts that are very similar to those offered by Walmart. Target’s average discount percentage is estimated to be 28%.
