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The History of Black Friday & How to Go Green
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Black Friday used to be more of a fun tradition than about shopping for deals, with people waking up in the early hours of the morning to scour the mall for the best deals possible – but the history of Black Friday and how it has evolved to what it is today is a direct result of excessive consumerism.
Following the pandemic, people started to shop for Black Friday as if it were Cyber Monday – encouraging even easier purchases to be made and eradicating the original traditions associated with Black Friday.
In this article, we’ll discuss the history of Black Friday, how it evolved to what it is today, and how to make your shopping habits more eco-friendly with Green Friday.
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is always the last Thursday in November – making Black Friday the last Friday in November, and is an American tradition where retailers offer goods and services at extremely discounted prices.
💡 Black Friday usually marks the end of autumn in the United States, and the first day where people transition their homes to Christmas and start their holiday shopping.
“ The intriguing thing about Black Friday is that stores will often offer record-low prices in attempts to clear out their stock for the next season and boost sales, often allowing these sales as early as the week of Thanksgiving and continuing through the week of Cyber Monday. ”
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Here are some characteristics of Black Friday:
- Special Discounts & Promotions – Known as the hallmark quality to Black Friday, stores in the United States, and now even expanding to the United Kingdom and France, will offer significant markdowns on next to any product – from clothing to electronics. This is meant to attract customers, and can serve as an opportunity for people to get a jump-start on their Christmas shopping.
- High Consumer Demand – Back in the days before the internet and Cyber Monday, people would rush to stores in person early on Friday morning after Thanksgiving to be the first one in line to secure the product they wanted on sale. Back then, Black Friday operated on a, “first come, first serve” business model – as opposed to today where Black Friday essentially occurs slowly over time throughout the week before and after Thanksgiving.
- Extended Sales – These days, Black Friday doesn’t really take place on the Friday after Thanksgiving – but in the week before and after the infamous American holiday. This allows both customers and retailers to take advantage of Black Friday.
💡 Regardless, Black Friday remains one of the busiest times of year for shopping – with Black Friday sales reaching $9.5 billion USD in 2023 alone.
- Chaotic Shoppers – Especially in the earlier days of Black Friday, this notorious shopping day was characterized by chaotic shoppers with a sense of urgency – often climbing on top of people and running into stores to grab deals before they ran out.
- Spending Large Amounts of Money – Although some people do take advantage of the discounts offered during Black Friday, some people will spend money unnecessarily – as they are tricked psychologically into spending more money than usual due to drastic discounts.
👉 Overall, Black Friday is an annual shopping event driven by the lure of extreme discounts, and continues to evolve each year to accommodate changing retail habits – such as how more people are shopping leisurely online.
What is the history of Black Friday?
Black Friday wasn’t always a day for shopping, as the term was originally used to describe “darker days” – such as when the gold market collapsed in 1869. Ultimately, the Black Friday we have come to know today, centralized around capitalism and consumerism – was not coined until the 1950s.
💡 For instance, the term “Black Friday” was first used when investors Jay Gould and James Fisk that had an investment that failed on September 24th, 1869 – and was called Black Friday to characterize the collapse of the gold market and the unfathomable amount of money lost.
“ Ironically, the Black Friday we have come to know today, characterized by exciting low prices, discounted deals, and an influx of income for businesses – started out as a day of dread for financial investors and policemen alike. ”
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Why do they call it Black Friday?
The meaning behind “Black Friday” is often attributed to when retail stores got out of “the red” and into “the black”.
“In the red” refers to a business that is losing money or operating in a deficit, whereas “in the black” describes a business operating from a place of positive cash flow – where profits are fruitful and opportunities to expand the business are prevalent.
💡 However, the name “Black Friday” came to be as a result of a football game in Philadelphia in the 1960's. During this football game, there was a large surge of people traveling into Philadelphia – where many people went shopping on their day off.
“ Ironically, it is somewhat fitting that Black Friday got its name from a football game – as the classic American sport depicts the early days of Black Friday shopping where people would push, shove, and run to score their favorite deals – which in the end, isn’t too different from scoring a touchdown. ”
When was the first Black Friday?
The earliest example of Black Friday was first depicted in a trade journal, Factory Management & Maintenance, published in 1951 where researcher Bonnie Taylor-Blake referred to Black Friday as the day after Thanksgiving.
💡 However, this first reference to Black Friday had nothing to do with shopping, but how people wouldn’t come to work for the Friday after – as Black Friday is not a day off in the United States, and it was proving increasingly difficult to get factory workers to show up after Thanksgiving.
Furthermore, police officers in Philadelphia started to refer to Black Friday as a day of doom, as there was too much traffic with suburban residents traveling to the city to go shopping on the makeshift holiday weekend.
Heading into the 1950s and the 1960s, retailers tried to rebrand it as “Big Friday” – as there was an ongoing myth that illustrated retail stores going, “in the black” – illustrating a business that is earning more than it is spending, and paints the business in a positive light as lucrative and desirable.
“ After Big Friday failed to catch on, retailers caught on and started to market it as the Black Friday we know today. ”
👉 Ultimately, it’s hard to decipher when the first official Black Friday shopping day was – as the history of Black Friday developed over time to become the infamous day of discounts it is now.
How do Americans and people around the world celebrate Black Friday today?
Although the history of Black Friday is eventful, the actual Friday after Thanksgiving is often a lull for most Americans – with many people taking off work and staying at home to spend more time with their families.
💡 Albeit Black Friday being depicted as a day of chaos in the media, it is usually the exact opposite for Americans – with many opting to travel home early to avoid crowds or simply picking at Thanksgiving leftovers from the fridge.
“ In recent years, the infamous shopping for Black Friday doesn’t even take place on the Friday after Thanksgiving anymore – with many people opting for online shopping via Cyber Monday or Cyber Week. ”
What is Cyber Monday or Cyber Week?
Cyber Monday is an online shopping event that occurs the Monday after Thanksgiving, and serves as a digital follow-up to Black Friday. Having started in 2005, Cyber Monday allows people to shop for these discounts from the comfort of their own home.
Today, Cyber Monday is now a global endeavor – and remains as one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. As a result, retailers often extend Cyber Monday into Cyber Week – where they allow customers to purchase goods and services at a discounted price the entire week before or after Thanksgiving to attract holiday shoppers.
💡 As e-commerce continues to grow, Black Friday shopping will continue to move online – especially as Black Friday influences other countries to enact these substantial holiday sales.
However, what remains concerning about Cyber Monday in terms of the environment is that it allows people to easily purchase items they may not need – leading to waste in our landfills and encouraging excess consumerism.
The table below will further demonstrate the differences between the early days and history of Black Friday shopping, Cyber Monday, and post-pandemic shopping trends:
| Aspect | Black Friday Shopping (Before the Internet) | Cyber Monday & Post-Pandemic Shopping Trends |
|---|---|---|
| Shopping Location | Primarily in-store shopping, with people visiting malls and retail stores for deals. | Mostly online shopping, with retailers focusing on e-commerce platforms and mobile apps. |
| Shopping Duration | One-day event, taking place on the Friday after Thanksgiving. | Extended duration; sales often start on Thanksgiving, continue through Cyber Monday, and can last into "Cyber Week." |
| Customer Experience | High energy, in-person experience with crowded stores and long lines. Doorbuster deals were common. | Convenient, at-home shopping with a focus on website navigation, fast shipping, and digital customer service. |
| Types of Deals | Primarily in-store exclusive deals with limited quantities. Discounts were focused on electronics, toys, and seasonal items. | Wider range of deals across various categories, with exclusive online discounts and flash sales on electronics, clothing, and more. |
| Environmental Impact | Focused on physical retail, which generated waste from packaging, transportation, and in-store crowd control. | Increase in shipping and packaging waste, but with growing emphasis on sustainable practices, such as eco-friendly packaging. |
| Shopping Trends Post-Pandemic | Pre-internet Black Friday was exclusively in-store; online shopping was not a factor. | Post-pandemic, there is a stronger shift towards online shopping, with many consumers prioritizing convenience, safety, and flexibility. |
| Focus on Safety and Health | Little emphasis on health and safety, aside from basic crowd management. | Enhanced health and safety measures due to the pandemic, with options for curbside pickup, contactless delivery, and remote shopping. |
👉 Following the birth and growth of Cyber Week, it is more than likely that we have seen the last of in-person, fanatic Black Friday shopping – and when we tell the next generation about the history of Black Friday, they will think we are crazy for waking up that early to shop – especially as thousands of malls across the country continue to close.
How can we make Black Friday go green with “Green Friday”?
At Greenly, we are taking initiative to promote the importance of “Green Friday” – as Black Friday traditionally contributes to over 1.2 million carbon dioxide emissions every year.
💡”Green Friday” is an effort on behalf of U.S. marketing to discuss how typical Black Friday traditions impact the environment, providing an outlet for people to brainstorm ideas to decarbonize their shopping habits.
“ Remember, Black Friday wasn’t always about shopping or even viewed in a positive light – retails, marketing, and commercialism made Black Friday what we know it as today. Just as businesses had the power to make Black Friday about shopping, they have the power to remind consumers of “darker days” – such as the day the gold market collapsed in 1869. ”
Here are some ways we can go green on Black Friday and promote the importance of “Green Friday”:
- Shed Light On Excessive Consumerism – Black Friday has received criticism for encouraging people to buy things they don’t need, and in response – some retailers are making the shift to more sustainable Black Friday. An example of this is retailers encouraging customers to stay away on Black Friday, such as “Buy Nothing Day” – where people are encouraged to go on a hike in nature or spend time at home with families in place of shopping at the mall or online.
- Buy What You Need – There isn’t anything inherently wrong with Black Friday and stores offering discount deals, but it gets out of hand when people buy more than they need. Therefore, stores can limit their Black Friday stock to customers to prevent excessive sales and eventually – excessive greenhouse gas emissions from the lifecycle of the product.
- Support Sustainable Brands – Black Friday is a day where people are interested in buying almost anything at a discounted price, meaning it’s the perfect time to seek out sustainable businesses that use eco-friendly materials. This way, when telling your friends what you bought on Black Friday – you can spread the word on how cool it is to go green.
- Shop Local – Instead of supporting big name brands on Black Friday, those of which don’t really need the influx of sales – try to support your local businesses on Black Friday. This can help promote the importance of reducing transportation and freight emissions associated with Black Friday and large international corporations.
- Go Vintage Shopping – If you really feel the need to buy something on Black Friday, opt for your local thrift store or vintage boutique – this can help to reduce the demand for new clothes to be manufactured and lessen the impact of Black Friday shoppers purchasing new fast fashion garments.
- Use Sustainable Packaging – We can’t blame your business for wanting to take advantage of Black Friday to boost sales, but if you’re going to participate – you can make your products more sustainable by packaging them with biodegradable or recyclable materials. This can help reduce the packing waste often associated with Black Friday.
- Spend Your Day Off Donating Items – Since most of us Americans spend Black Friday hanging around the house anyways, it’s the perfect opportunity to go through your closet and find old clothes and items you don’t use anymore. This can help promote the importance of upcycling and preventing waste on, “Green Friday”.
👉 Show us your “Green Friday” traditions this year using the hashtags #GreenFriday #Greenly!
Overall, there are countless ways to promote the importance of sustainability on “Green Friday” in place of Black Friday’s more traditional shopping tendencies – and if you're not sure how to get your company started, Greenly is always here to help.
What About Greenly?
If reading this article about the history of Black Friday and how to go green has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
It can be overwhelming to figure out how to effectively reduce your environmental impact when shopping, but don’t worry – Greenly is here to help. Click here to schedule a demo to see how Greenly can help you find ways to ensure your company is complying with all current and future environmental regulations.
Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.
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