Photo courtesy of Forbes

Black Friday is a time of rushing, panicking, and fast-paced retail shopping. Black Friday takes place the day after Thanksgiving —although it sometimes starts on Thanksgiving night — and is a day where almost every store has sales and bargains. One might be thinking, “Why is it called Black Friday?” According to an article from History, What’s the Real History of Black Friday? Sarah Pruitt states that “After an entire year of operating at a loss (“in the red”) stores would supposedly earn a profit (“went into the black”) on the day after Thanksgiving because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise.” This correlates with the crazy stories heard about Black Friday. Some people become violent or even start stampedes to get the limited quantity of items they aim to buy.

To some, Black Friday may seem like a fun time with friends and a great way to save money. To others, Black Friday is a waste of time and just an excuse for stores to make more money. In the recent years, Black Friday has mostly disappointed consumers. According to the San Diego-based private equity firm LPL research, retailers rang up about $60 billion in 2012, which dropped to $52 billion in 2015. People are starting to buy online and some people even wait until Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) to buy all the products they want online—this way they can stay in their pajamas and not deal with the chaotic crowds.

Photo courtesy of Nerd Wallet

So, what are the deals offered on Black Friday? It really depends on what store you plan to shop at. Some stores can offer a 10% discount while other stores may offer up to 70% off of retail prices. Stores even sneakily try to repeat the phony gimmicks and sales from the year before. Most stores are not open for just the 24 hours of Black Friday. Many stores often open Thanksgiving night, and some stores continue the sales into the weekend.

One example of this is Target, which offered 10 days of deals leading up to Black Friday this year. Department stores such as Nordstrom and Macy’s are in competition with each other and are trying to lower their prices to get more consumers. Overall, experts and economic strategists believe that the outlook for all holiday shopping remains vigorous and strong.

So, for those who are looking to scoop up some great deals, try and look online to see what sort of deals to expect for the holiday weekend and see if it is really worth getting up early and scavenging through the shops. Happy shopping!

By JoAnna Palumbo’19, Staff Writer