Commentary
The Meaning Of Black Friday
- by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, November 25, 2016
Do you feel like Black Friday lost its oomph? I actually purchased some items on sale two days before Thanksgiving. It almost feels like Black Friday week rather than Black Friday day. And I did it all in physical stores. This year I'm on the hunt for deals online to buy in brick-and-mortar stores, rather make the purchase online, which I have not done in the past six years. Why the change of heart?
Sometimes it takes retailers too long to process the order. In many cases their online systems do not stop taking orders when stock runs out and the consumer ends up getting an apology email as to the reason the items won't ship.
Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) released data Thursday morning that predicts products are less likely to run out of stock this year. In fact, out-of-stock notifications are at 6.4% versus 11% last year, according to ADI.
Between midnight and 11 a.m. ET on Thanksgiving Day, ADI estimates consumers spent $336 million, with a forecast to hit $2 billion in online revenue for the first time at 15.6% growth YoY, with a record $820 million expected via mobile devices for the entire day.
And evidently it's easier to order products from a smartphone running the iOs operating system compared with Android. ADI estimates the average order value on iOS devices hit $144, outperforming Android devices at $119.
As for how Black Friday got its name, there are several theories. One of the earliest use of the term Black Friday, the shopping day after Thanksgiving Day, which kicks off the holiday shopping season in the U.S., comes from a 1951 practice of workers calling in sick on the day after Thanksgiving in order to have four consecutive days off. At the time, the day was not yet commonly offered as a paid day off by employers, according to Snopes.
Time magazine suggests the term Black Friday originally was used to describe the September 24, 1864 stock market crash set off by plummeting goal prices. Newspapers in Philadelphia reused the phrase in the late 1960s to describe the rush of crowds at stores.
Digital images compiled from the Library of Congress would lead us to believe that Black Friday was a common term used by retailers to advertise sales -- not just during the holiday season, but all year long. The Hub used the term Black Friday in July 1901, to advertise a sale in the Iola register.
Happy shopping -- wherever the deals might take you.
Laurie Sullivan is a writer and editor for MediaPost. You can reach Laurie at lauriesullivan@gmail.com.
I joined this website today in order to leave a comment. Not my normal behavior but hey its the holiday season an i suppose i feel like i need to put my 2 cents in. Apparently as an individual that uses the internet I'm worth alot more than 2 cents to advertisers, marketers, and all the major retailers. I found this site because i was cruising thru my computers options an found "Manage my Microsoft advertising and other personal info"... I was interested in the ability to turn off targeted ads. I'm seriously detouring off of my comment and i apologize for rambling. SO THE FOOTNOTE All content published by MediaPost is determined by our editors 100% in the interest of our readers ... independent of advertising, sponsorships or other considerations. I have a hard time believing. Otherwise you wouldnt be plugging Apple IOS devices or software as you put it making it evidently easier to order products from a IOS operating system. ADI estimates the average order value on IOS devices hit $144 Outperforming Android devices at $119. Im sorry but it just doesnt make any sense. How the hell can one make such a ridiculous statment that it must be easier to order products from an iphone because more money was spent from one so it evidently outperforms Andriod. So since the avg order value is higher that must mean its easier order from. It could mean that people who buy IPHONES maybe have more of a financial advantage.(I.E. They just have more money or they are just willing to spend more money on an Item) Obviously this was researched by ADI i have no clue who the hell they are. When something is researched that means time was spent on it. Time = $$$$$$$ I need work for ADI apprently they enjoy paying people research and come up with some estimate that has absoultely no facts or real data that can back up Apple IOS for leading the way in ease of shopping an ordering products. Sorry for my any errors in my grammar.
Hi K. Sinner. Thank you for taking the time to comment. In my opinion it's easier to make a purchase from an iPhone. If it's easier to make a purchase the consumer, me, will likely spend more money on each transaction. My opinion is backed by ADI's data. ADI is owned by Adobe. The aggregate data comes from 22.6 billion visits to retail websites, per Adobe. Adobe measures 80 percent of all online transactions from the top 100 U.S. retailers, more than any other technology company, per the company, and uses predictive modeling powered by Adobe Sensei to forecast online sales and trends. Seven dollars and fifty cents out of every $10 is spent online with the top 500 U.S. retailers go through Adobe Marketing Cloud. Hope this helps.