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 Each year in the United States we have a peculiar occasion known as Black Friday. This is the day that falls after Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November) and is known not only as one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but as one of the days where savvy Geeks everywhere get greats deals. In recent years, we’ve also seen the rise of what is known as Cyber Monday.
What is behind these shopping days – and what are some ways that you can capitalize on them?
A little history behind the days
What is known today as Black Friday actually had its beginning with Macy’s department store – more specifically Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Why? Well, for most people this was traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season. Indeed, most retailers were loathe to start any type of advertising for or sales associated with Christmas before the Friday after Thanksgiving. This started in the 1920s. So ingrained was this custom that an attempt was actually made in the late 1930s/early 1940s to move the Thanksgiving holiday back a week to give retailers an extra week of holiday sales. This proved unpopular and it was moved back to its normal date on the calendar.
Still, the tradition in the retail chains at that time to not start holiday sales until the day after Thanksgiving stayed strong for many decades. This, combined with a number of people traditionally having this day off, gave rise to a large number of people hitting the stores that day to start their shopping.
 It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that the term Black Friday for this day was first coined however (seemingly in Philadelphia, PA). Then, it was only in a more derogatory way since it meant extra work for police, retailers and the city itself as people poured into the city in looking to start their first day of shopping for the holidays – but putting extra stress on the city in the process. The term carried over into the 1970s in much the same way and in the 1980s started carrying over into a more positive terms for both retails and customers alike. Retailers started referring to the term as the day that they went out of the “red” (running at a deficit) and into the “black” (running at a profit) for the year.
 Black Friday has grown more and more popular in recent years with retailers (and e-tailers) building entire ad campaigns around it and offering extended shopping hours. In an attempt to get your shopping dollars, they will usually heavily advertise loss leaders (with limited quantities) to get you into their stores – particularly on electronics and toys.
In 2005 the website shop.com coined the term Cyber Monday for the phenomenon that e-tailers had noticed occurring - that people who for whatever reason, couldn’t get out that Friday (as some may have had to work) or couldn’t get to the retailer in time to get that advertised bargain. Enter Cyber Monday.
 This is the Monday that follows Black Friday when people are either at work or at home scouring the Internet for bargains. Many e-tailers are now aware of this fact and gear special “Cyber Monday” promotions for that day (in addition to the Black Friday promotions that they may run).
Capitalizing on these Sales Events
The first thing to do is check tipster websites for any specials that may have leaked. Simply take your favorite search engine and type in either “Black Friday 2010” or “Cyber Monday 2010”. Also be sure to sign up for your favorite retailers or e-tailers promotional e-mails. Keep in mind that a lot of the promoted items are time and quantity sensitive – so you may want to camp out at your favorite retailer or e-tailers website for the best bargains – but it may also be worth it (many times the sale literally starts at Midnight – be sure to refresh your browser)! The best deals don’t last, so hopefully you’ve done some homework beforehand to spot the truly outstanding deals and are ready to pounce on it as soon as it appears.
Another tip is to check back periodically with your favorite websites that day as new items may show up on sale.
To be sure, there are deals to be had – so be sure to stake your claim and get those bargains early with Black Friday and Cyber Monday! |
