The national phenomenon of the American tradition “Black Friday” struck the country last week on the day after Thanksgiving. This is a term that was coined by our very own Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 to describe the traffic and crowds that erupt the Friday after Thanksgiving every year. Taking the opportunity to capitalize on these crowds, retailers would put incredible discounts on their products. It has since spread to many other countries. Black Friday marks the beginning of Christmas season and the shopping that is associated with it.
This year shoppers reported that Black Friday shopping has hit a major plateau. Stores either only have slight discounts, the sales are online only, or they offer sales for the whole month leading up to the holiday which causes the magic of the tradition to be lost. Because of this, the chaotic spirit of the holiday appears to be almost completely gone.
I remember when I was younger, every Thanksgiving my older cousins would leave dinner early so that they could line up outside of the mall in order to be the first ones in to get the big sales. This left our aunts and uncles disgruntled, but they understood that you had to do whatever it takes for the purpose of tradition, but that has since changed. This year on Black Friday, my friends and I grabbed breakfast downtown, forgetting about the fact that there were supposed to be crowds upon crowds, fighting to get into the nearby stores. Lucky for us, there was barely anybody. It looked like any other average day downtown: middle-aged moms sorting through jackets in Gap and groups of middle-school girls hanging out in Lululemon. No mobs, no fights, and, quite honestly, nothing special at all.
The excitement of this holiday has simply evaporated. What was once an infamous event in American culture has now become just another day. One of the main reasons that this may be is because there is a sheer overabundance of sales, which eliminates the urgency and chaos that we secretly all love so much. It is no longer an exclusive event that nobody would want to risk missing. People start to forget that the holiday even exists because there are sales for weeks leading up to it, and don’t get me started on Cyber Monday. This extension of Black Friday allows for the month-long sales to be offered online too, so really there is no point at all in being excited about the single day of Black Friday. This overuse of sales dilutes the significance of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making these discounts less of a treat. There is no magic or fun in knowing that you can get an item on sale any day you want surrounding Thanksgiving. There is no rush in frantically looking for discounts when they are everywhere.
The decline in excitement around Black Friday and Cyber Monday is not just a passing trend; it is a sign of how much retail and consumer behavior has shifted in recent years. Black Friday and Cyber Monday may still be with us, but they have lost the luster that once made them special. It might be time to let go of the idea that these days need to be some monumental thing. After all, as shoppers, we are no longer waiting for that one big sale. Instead, we are navigating a constant flow of deals, making mindful decisions, and embracing the fact that great discounts are out there all year long, not just on one single day. It is our duty to decide what we should do: attempt to reinstill tradition, or let it dissolve completely.
