November arrives and everyone’s talking about one thing: Black Friday.
I love sales and saving money on things I most want to buy. Black Friday is the biggest sale of the year. But do you know the history of this holiday?
Black Friday started in Philadelphia, USA, around the 1960s. Why does it always happen at the end of November? Because it’s close to the end-of-year holidays. Its to give people a chance at the end of Thanksgiving to start buying Christmas presents. What everyone knows about Black Friday is how everyone rushes to the stores and everything becomes crazy. It was a very chaotic period, but gradually businesses began to realize that they could turn that situation into something positive.
In accounting, when a number is negative, it turns red, but if it’s positive, it turns black. Hence the term Black Friday. It comes from this accounting idea and the fact that at that time retailers were always making a lot of profit.
Nowadays, not only the United States but many other countries have Black Friday, and Canada is no exception. As someone who works in retail, I can say for sure that Vancouver goes crazy this time of year. It seems like people’s lives revolve around buying discounts. Everywhere I go, at least one person will ask me, “So, what are you going to buy this Black Friday?”
(StockSnap/Pixabay)
The stores are all prepared for the madness a week before in Vancouver. We do what we call a “warm-up” for their customers. They start with a small discount, increasing it throughout the week, until on Friday, the official promotion arrives. Vancouver is aggressive when it comes to discounts; they display real discounts which is why people go crazy.
Places like Outlet McArthurGlen, Pacific Centre, Metropolis at Metrotown, Robson Street, and many more open earlier, and close later. They have strict security, and are packed with people from beginning to end.
What can I say, coming from a country where Black Friday culture isn’t very strong. I have learned that in Vancouver it’s a tradition, an event, a time to spend with family and friends. The city prepares for it for so long, the stores have their discounts and everyone experiences the chaos of the discounts. I have to be honest, I love it.