Why Is It Called Black Friday? It’s Not a Happy, Shopping Story!

Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year.

I didn’t realize just how big it was until I married an American. My first Thanksgiving, some 20+ years ago, was an eyeopener. We spent the day with family and friends. We watched football, ate too much, laughed too much, and had a grand old time.

The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn… WTF? I could not understand for the life of me why we were going to the malls first thing in the morning. Was it really that big of a deal? Yep! It really was!

The deals! They were amazing. But it was bigger than that. This wasn’t just shopping, this was an experience. It was fun!

I asked, “Why is Black Friday called Black Friday?” I got the standard response, “It’s the most profitable day of the year for retailers. It’s the day they go into the black.”

Oh! That makes sense. “Going into the black” is as an accounting reference. Red means a company, or project, is losing money; black means it’s breaking even or doing well.

I didn’t give it a second thought. Retailers make a boat ton of money on Black Friday. According to CNBC, “[In 2018] Black Friday pulled in $6.22 billion in online sales, up 23.6 percent from a year ago and setting a new high.”

According to the National Retail Association, shoppers spent $1,007.24 each in 2018: $637.67 on gifts; $215.04 for food, decorations, flowers, and greeting cards; and $154.53 to take advantage of Black Friday deals and promotions.