The origin of the name Black Friday

The first record of the use of the term "Black Friday" dates back to 1869. Two Wall Street entrepreneurs, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, devised a plan to vitiate the gold market on the New York Stock Exchange, buying as much gold as they could in the hopes of raising the price astronomically and selling it at a huge profit. On Friday, September 24, 1869, the conspiracy was discovered and the US government intervened, leading the stock market to collapse. On that day several fortunes were lost, leading millionaires to bankruptcy.

However, the most popularized version of the story is that the origin of the name Black Friday comes from the fact that the stores operate in the "red" (with losses) the whole year and the Friday after Thanksgiving is the first day in which they profited, due to the influx of consumers to the stores. As traditionally the days of profit were marked in black, the name Black Friday appeared.

The term remained unobtrusive in popular culture until the mid-1960s, when Philadelphia police began designating the day after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” because of the flood of people who invaded the city early in the shopping season from Christmas.

The shopping madness

In recent years, Black Friday has gained importance in the lives of traders and consumers. For the former, it is the opportunity to exponentially increase sales by promoting great deals and discounts. Many stores lengthen the opening hours and significantly lower prices in order to attract customers.

For consumers, Black Friday marks the beginning of Christmas shopping and the opportunity to purchase specific products at very low prices. In the USA, the craziness is such that every year there are conflicts between clients. In Portugal, where Black Friday is still a relatively recent tradition in commerce, purchases are made in physical stores and online stores.

Attention to frauds

Although Black Friday is an excellent opportunity to buy some products at a reduced price, be careful not to be fooled by false discounts. In 2015, the Portuguese Consumer Protection Association (DECO) identified several situations where price manipulation existed: many stores increased prices a few days before Black Friday, then announced a false discount. According to DECO, last year one out of every twenty Black Friday products violated the law on unfair business practices.

Thus, we leave you some tips to get the most out of Black Friday without falling into misunderstandings.

Make a list of the products you want to buy, and buy only what you put on the list. Seeing so many promotional products can be attractive, but this way you avoid buying products you do not need.

Search for prices beforehand. As we have already mentioned, some stores will raise prices before Black Friday to announce false rebates. Be aware of the price history of the products you want to purchase and make sure you are in fact buying at a discount.

Good shopping!