Just to be informed!

My Dear Students, today is not a day of our usual studying but a special day in our City because all of many many citizens as well as guests are planning to GO SHOPPING. BLACK FRIDAY! What is it? How long ago did it start? What were the real reasons of it?

Here is some information for you....

What Is the History of Black Friday?

The history of Black Friday started much earlier than people think. The day after Thanksgiving was the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season since the late 19th century. President Lincoln designated the Thanksgiving holiday as the last Thursday in November.

The day after Thanksgiving wasn't called Black Friday then. The name was associated with September 24, 1869. Two speculators, Jay Gould and James Fisk, created a boom-and-bust in gold prices. A stock market crash followed, as prices fell 20 percent. The disruption in gold prices sent commodity prices plummeting 50 percent. Corruption in Tammany Hall allowed Gould and Fisk to escape without punishment.

In 1905, Canadian department store Eaton's began the first Thanksgiving Day parade by bringing Santa on a wagon through the streets of downtown Toronto. In 1913, eight live reindeer pulled Santa's "sleigh." By 1916, seven floats representing nursery rhyme characters joined Santa in the parade. 

In 1924, the Eaton's parade inspired Macy's Department Store to launch its famous Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. Macy's wanted to celebrate its success during the Roaring 20s. The parade boosted shopping for the following day. Retailers had a gentleman's agreement to wait until then before advertising holiday sales. 

In 1939, during the Great Depression, Thanksgiving happened to fall during the fifth week of November. Retailers warned they would go bankrupt because the holiday shopping season was too short. They petitioned President Franklin D. Roosevelt to move the Thanksgiving holiday up to the fourth Thursday.

Unfortunately, by this time it was late October. Most people had already made their plans. Some were so upset that they called the holiday "Franksgiving" instead. Only 32 states followed FDR's move. Others celebrated two holidays, which forced some companies to give their employees an extra day off.

In 1941, Congress ended the confusion. It passed a law that made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November no matter what. 

In the 1950s, people began calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving, essentially giving themselves a four-day weekend. Since stores were open, as were most businesses, those playing hooky could also get a head start on their holiday shopping. That’s as long as the boss didn't see them. Rather than try to determine whose pay should be cut, and who was legitimately sick, many businesses started adding that day as another paid holiday. 

In 1966, the Black Friday name became famous in print. That's when a story appeared in an ad in The American Philatelist, a stamp collectors' magazine.  The Philadelphia Police Department used the name to describe the traffic jams and crowding in the downtown stores. 

In 2014, an internet meme created a myth about Black Friday and slaves. It falsely claimed slave traders gave discounts at auctions on the day after Thanksgiving. 

Black Friday Sales History

Historically, shoppers did half their holiday shopping on Black Friday. The holiday season consists of November and December, according to the National Retail Federation.

In 2008, holiday sales fell 4.6 percent from the prior year. That's the first time sales dropped since the NRF began tracking in 1992. Sales typically rose 3.4 percent each year.

In 2009, sales increased 0.3 percent. Shoppers spent $373 each on Black Friday. That's more than half of the $673 each spent during the 2009 holiday season.

Holiday sales rebounded 5.2 percent in 2010, once the recession was safely over. Black Friday weekend sales were $45 billion.

In 2011, many stores opened on Thanksgiving evening for the first time. Those sales were included in Black Friday sales. They were $12.3 billion, up 2.3 percent from 2010. Overall holiday sales rose 4.6 percent. 

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In 2013, combined online and store sales for the entire Black Friday weekend were $57.4 million. It was lower than the $60 million spent in 2012. Many shoppers took advantage of online sales that began in early November. Others waited for bigger discounts later in the shopping season. The NRF stopped giving sales estimates for Black Friday in 2013. Instead, it reported on sales for the holiday season.

I wish all of you  be lucky on this very day but let me give you some tips on shopping which may be used and useful as the same time:
1. Shop with a list. Many people overspend or buy things they don’t want, don’t need and never end up using because they haven’t prepared properly. This is your hard earned cash and precious time you are spending – it’s worth a few minutes of preparation, don’t you think? Sure it is (and remember, you’re worth it!). So, before you set off on your shopping trip, prepare. Review what you already have – in your closet, cupboards, home or garage, then write a list of the ‘gaps’ you have and the needs this item will fill. Make sure they are genuine needs – not frivolous wants (there’s a big difference between the two). And finally, remember to use that list when you shop! That list will be no good scrumpled up on the bottom of your bag or jammed into your pocket. Use it and only buy things that are on that list!
2. Set a budget.  This is important. Many people overspend on things they don’t want, need or use because they had no parameters around their spending – they just went ‘hell for leather’. Not a smart way to shop. You need to set a ballpark figure (or a more precise one if you have the specific research on what you are shopping for to support it) on what you are going to spend on this trip, what is comfortable for you to spend and what makes sense for you to spend on this shopping trip. You want to feel great about this shopping trip long after the ink has faded on the receipt, right? And one way to do that is to make sure you don’t buy more than you can afford. Set your budget – and like the list – stick to it! Whatever your budget – $50 or $500 or $5000 –  stop shopping once you hit that limit.
3. Pay with cash. The research is clear: we pay 20 – 50% more when we shop with magic plastic, whether it’s using a credit or debit card. There’s something about that magic plastic that can make us feel like we’re using Monopoly money, play money. Like it’s not real. Unfortunately, those credit card fees are very real! So once your list is prepared and you have a realistic budget you can stick to, withdraw your funds in cash and use only that cash for this shopping trip. Paying with cash feels more “real” and that’s what we want – to reconnect you to this shopping experience so you only buy things you genuinely need and will use. You’ll save a fortune and those impulse buys will seem far less alluring!

4. Set a timeframe. Don’t allow yourself to meander around a shopping centre in an aimless fashion. Many people use shopping in a lollabout fashion, whiling away an afternoon in their favourite mall. Not a strategy I would promote or advocate. If you want to shop smart, this isn’t the way to go – no meandering shopping! Set a specific timeframe that you will complete your shopping in, and once that time is over, it’s time to head home. Your time is too valuable to spend it mindlessly anyway – once you’ve bought all you need (and nothing you don’t), stop shopping and turn your attention to something else for the day.

5. Shop alone. Many people find that shopping partners are more akin to accomplices in crime! They can egg us on to making purchases that we don’t want or need, and can have their own (sometimes unconscious) motives for encouraging us to shop. Perhaps they feel some sense of competition, or they want to live vicariously through us and our purchases. Whatever is going on for the other person, what they don’t have to live with is the consequences of your shopping – only you have to live with that. If you want to go shopping as a social activity, that’s okay – but make it a purely social activity with no purchasing allowed. Window shop, or have a bite to eat together, but don’t buy until you can go shopping on your own.

6. Don’t buy just because it’s on sale. ‘Sale’ really is a four-letter word! Accompanied by the word ‘shoe’, it is possibly responsible for more impulse shopping than almost any other word! Remember that a bargain is not a bargain if it’s not you, doesn’t fit correctly, you don’t love it, or it doesn’t fill a legitimate gap you have and is therefore a real need. Spending money on a $20 shirt or shoes or make-up or a DVD or scented candles or a Batman clock or anything else that you never wear (or wear only once) or use is a waste of that $20. We justify it by saying “oh it’s on sale, it’s only $20” but those $20 add up. You wouldn’t throw $20 out the window, so don’t throw your hard earned cash out the window on items that appear to be a ‘bargain’ due to their discounted sale price. Only buy items on sale when it’s something that is on your list and is within your budget.

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