Secret Meaning of “Black Friday” – Ewww!

Several Other Historic Explanations

The widely accepted meaning for the Friday after Thanksgiving being known as “Black Friday” has been the time when retail sales moved retailers from operating in the red to the black, i.e., the day stores become profitable.  The CEO of Jelmar, Inc., Alison Gutterman, says the secret meaning for the day has its roots in the plumbing profession.

Shopping malls see increased traffic on Black Friday, but the best sales are generally not on that day.

According to a release last week, Gutterman said, “It’s actually the day plumbers nationwide receive the most service calls out of the entire year.  Whether it’s clogged sinks or toilets from eating too much on Thanksgiving, many families need a little extra help on Black Friday.”  Thanks for the mental picture there, Alison.

The release went on to explain how CLR Power Plumber can help those without the time or budget to call a plumber without resorting to the acids or toxicity of other solutions.  The product uses compressed gas that creates a standing wave in the pipe which clears the jam without damaging the plumbing.

Okay, now that the commercial is over, it’s time to get that visual out of your head.  There are other alleged origins for the term.  Several of the explanations come from my hometown of Philadelphia, PA.

Many news outlets call Black Friday the busiest shopping day of the year, but that’s incorrect.  Since 1997, Black Friday has never held the top sales spot according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. (ICSC) 

The two earliest references to the day came from Philadelphia, according to an article in Wikipedia.  In January 1966, an article attributed the term to Philadelphia police  who had to control crowds and a massive traffic influx on that day.  A 1975 article in The New York Times featuring a Philadelphia dateline attributed it to police and bus drivers who had to deal with unruly mobs because the day was sandwiched between Thanksgiving and the Army-Navy football game formerly held in JFK stadium on the post-Thanksgiving Saturday.

As a former retail clerk, the term meant the day in which the greatest number of shoppers entered the store, many of whom were rude and pawed merchandise to the point of complete disarray.  It was the most dreaded day of the retail clerk’s year, and even 25 years ago, we noticed a sales increase but it wasn’t the highest day.  From a retail clerks perspective, and as borne out in the numbers form the ICSC, the last four days before Christmas generally saw the highest sales numbers.  If a Saturday was among those last four days, that would be the day of highest sales.

The irony of the situation is that the best deals are often found on Black Friday, because retailers are eager to start the season off with significant discounts to improve overall volume.  The last shopping days of the season have few, if any, significant discounts.  By that time, shoppers lose their tendency to shop for the best price because of dwindling alternatives, and retailers are of course aware of the phenomenon.

Regular visitors to Writer to the World^TM may have noted that I’ve already written about how I shop in Lititz, PA on December 21 every year.  The reason is simple.  As a perennial last-minute holiday shopper, I already know I’m not going to get the best prices, so I might as well find gifts that are unique.  There’s nothing like a small country town with a variety of unusual stores to accomplish the goal.

Just so the Jelmar people don’t get mad at me, I must also state that I’ve used CLR to remove calcium and rust stains in the past to great effect.  It’s a good product that delivers on its promise.