For Americans, Black Friday is the most natural and traditional of days following straight after the beautiful celebration of Thanksgiving. For our neighbors on the other side of the pond, this one day of the year may seem a strange phenomenon if you are relatively new to the term and haven’t yet had the pleasure of participating in a Black Friday purchase! For those readers who aren’t sure what the day is all about, let me tell you some more about the Black Friday history and how we Americans cherish this fantastic occasion every time it comes around.
The History Of Black Friday
Some of you may well be thinking what a horrible thing to name a day of celebration. Well, you would be on the right track in some sense as the origin of how Black Friday got its name isn’t always the nicest of descriptions! The day is named Black Friday just because it was the one day after Thanksgiving where so many people drove out to the stores in search of bargains that there became a succession of accidents on this day.
These road accidents coupled with varying fighting incidents taking place within the actual crowded stores as mayhem ensued meant that police departments were kept particularly busy this one time of the year. It was thereby decided, by the police departments themselves, that the most appropriate name for such a day was indeed Black Friday!
What Black Friday Means to Americans
Casting aside the negative aspects of the Black Friday label, looking at this day from a savvy shopper’s point of view, it signals the beginning of the official Christmas shopping weeks. This is the day that we can access bargains galore with some whooping price drops, as all companies and brands target consumers in this lead up to the most prominent occasion in the yearly calendar.
The tension that builds up in many large shopping areas on this day still, unfortunately, results in many violent incidents taking place, especially when stores open their doors at the crack of dawn and don’t then shut them until the late hours of the evening. However, the Black Friday mass rush and scat for the best deals need not be anything like this. In fact, it doesn’t even require you to leave the comfort of your own home!
Changing Your Black Friday Tactics
Having extensively scrutinized consumer spending habits closely throughput my years of dealing with various brands, I haven’t failed to notice that with each year that passes throughout the twenty-first century, the numbers of shoppers physically shopping for mega discounts on Black Friday drops significantly. The reason for this is solely due to the ability to buy online without having to get up early and fight your way through the crowds in the hope that you will end up with a good deal.
Many shops are also smart about their sales- they use specific shelf Wobblers from Alplas (or a similar company) to advertise special offers or new products. During the sale rush, these kinds of indicators make it easier for shoppers to spot the high-discount items, which assures the store of clearance for this product. They might use these wobblers for items that they want sold as quickly as possible, and customers tend to notice these colourful and bouncy sign-holders.
I think I can say this without too much criticism, but at times the Black Friday Sales are not the most desired of places to be when you’ve spent the day before that relaxing and chilling out with friends and family and eaten an enormous Thanksgiving turkey dinner to boot! It is for this reason that you will no longer find me queuing up to get into the most significant electrical stores or jostling for positions in the department stores boutiques.
Now, I take the sensible option, for both practical and financial reasons, and experience the Black Friday Phenomenon online. As a result, the offers, discounts and entirely great deals I get when starting my Christmas shopping have never been better!
That said, I prefer to implement robust security measures to prevent package theft. It can be quite disheartening to have made significant investments during the Black Friday sales, only to later discover that the packages have been snatched from the porch. This is why, to Prevent Package Theft and ensure they arrive intact, I try to take proactive steps to minimize the risk of theft. This involves having strong home security features like surveillance cameras and smart locks. Essentially, I like to combine effective package security measures with the convenience and incredible deals offered during Black Friday for a hassle-free and joyful holiday season.
Black Friday Extends to Monday and Beyond Online
If you tend to think of the high streets, department stores, and shopping malls as being the only places to get the best Black Friday Deals, you may be missing out on some of the better deals that are to be found online. What is more, you perhaps aren’t aware of the Cyber Monday occasion which takes place online after the Black Friday Sales. If you want to make sure that you get the deals you’ve been after as soon as possible, you may want to set up an alert notification through platforms like https://price.com/alert/list so you do not miss out on those deals you’ve had your eye on.
If you choose to begin your Christmas shopping online at this time of the year, from Black Friday onwards, those large online stores will offer significant discounts and tantalizing offers. But these aren’t just on the official day of Black Friday, but somewhat over the Black Friday weekend, into Cyber Monday and in many cases for the remainder of that week!
For those of us who are savvier with their online shopping, you may even notice that many of these online retailers even start Black Friday many days before Thanksgiving takes place!
Get the Most Out of Black Friday
If you’re wary of shopping online during Black Friday and don’t want to miss out, consider visiting your preferred retailers’ websites. They typically offer special deals, like the enticing Black Friday food deals that can be just as good or even better than what’s available in physical stores. This approach can help you secure fantastic deals without dealing with the crowds of in-store shoppers.
With big companies getting on board, such as Amazon and Microsoft to name but a small few, there is a vast selection to choose from when it comes to getting loved ones the most desired and sought-after Christmas presents. From technology to clothing, just as you can virtually purchase everything online throughout the rest of the year, you can also do the same when it comes to Black Friday – albeit at a much lower cost to your purse strings!
Take the Online Black Friday Challenge
So, next time Black Friday comes around, get yourself prepared and make the change. Don’t feel as though you must hit the streets and persevere with the crowds just to get that deal the store has been promising all week in its window displays.
Just grab yourself a coffee, get comfortable on the couch and power up the computer. You could have access to the best promotions currently doing the rounds in America while coming out at the other end of Black Friday unscathed and unharmed and most likely still with money left over at the end of it all!