Question: What Is the History of Black Friday?
Answer: The history of Black Friday began in 1966. This is when a story appeared in an ad in The American Philatelist. The Philadelphia Police Department used the name to describe the traffic jams and crowding in the downtown stores.
Black Friday has been the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season since the 1930s. In fact, President Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week during the Great Depression because retailers wanted an extra week of shopping revenue. This pleased retailers, but irritated shoppers, who had to change plans.
In 2008, Black Friday sales fell 3.4% from the year before, the first time since the National Retail Federation began tracking in 1992. The 2009 holiday shopping season was only up .4%, to $437.02 billion. The NRF predicts a 2.3% increase for the 2010 shopping season. Updated November 15, 2010
Black Friday FAQ
- What Is Black Friday?
- Why Is Black Friday Called Black Friday?
- What Is the History of Black Friday?
- Where Are Black Friday Sales Ads, Deals and Shopping?
- What Is Cyber Monday?
