How did this huge shopping event come to be?
Black Friday; two words which immediately bring to mind huge queues, cheap prices and in extreme cases, outright fighting.
It’s that time of year again, where the day after Thanksgiving in the USA, shoppers will be getting ready to bag a bargain. But how did Black Friday come to be? Was it always about the sales? Let’s find out!
Black Friday’s Origin
The earliest known use of the term referring to the day after Thanksgiving is apparently found in the journal ‘Factory Management and Maintenance’ in November 1951/52. It referred to people calling in sick the day after this holiday in order to have a four-day weekend (naughty!).
Around the same time, police in Philadelphia also started to use the term to describe the large crowds and busy roads experienced after ‘Turkey Day’ (Thanksgiving).
Gradual Influence
For many years Black Friday seemed to stay isolated to just a few cities in the US. The New York Times still called it “the busiest shopping and traffic day of the year” in Philadelphia on 29th November 1975. Even in 1985, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that some big cities like LA were still unaware of the term.
The use of the term ‘Black Friday’ throughout the USA became more widespread in the 80’s. Businesses jumped on the bandwagon to advertise their wares and bring in profit for the Christmas season.
Fast forwarding to today, it has become a yearly tradition. Stores regularly hold huge sales on certain items, with shoppers more than happy to take advantage of what they have on offer.
It is one of the biggest sale events of the entire year, with US consumers spending a massive $9.12bn, and an even bigger $11.3bn online on Cyber Monday 2022 (the Monday after Black Friday).
Black Friday In The UK
Originally used to describe the Friday before Christmas (now more commonly known as ‘Mad Friday’), the UK didn’t fully catch on with this US shopping craze until around 2012. It wouldn’t be until 2014 when people really started to take it seriously, with hundreds of bargains to be had.
In just a few short years, Black Friday has become almost as big a deal in the UK as it has in the USA. In 2021 UK shoppers spent a massive £12.3 billion, an increase of 8.3% on the previous year. With the cost of living biting hard, more people than ever are expected to be on the hunt for sale items in 2023.
We might have been a little slow to get on board with this, but there is no question that this Black Friday will have people shopping for all the latest deals both online and on the high street.
Black Friday At The Electronic Cigarette Company
Like most retailers in the UK, we will participate in the Black Friday weekend (24th-27th November) this year, with reductions site-wide! But that’s not all! We’ll have discounts and offers starting from Monday 20th November. Why not sign up for our newsletter, so you don’t miss out on our amazing deals?
We will also be open Saturday on the 25th November (9am-3pm) so you can call us if you need to place an order. Keep your eye out on the website and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and be in the know with all of our upcoming vape reductions!
This year you can save up to 90% on selected products!! Also, fans of disposable flavour rejoice, there’s 30% off, and bar salts are reduced by 40% too. If you don’t find anything in our sale that catches your eye, there will still be a 15% site-wide reduction, too.
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