There is an ongoing debate about when BF actually began. The resolution of this debate is not necessary for an understanding of this post. I first noticed BF, the helter-skelter shopping day, in 2000. In that year friends of mine who lived outside of the U.S. spent Thanksgiving with me. After eating the tradition meal we decided to visit Times Square in the evening. They wanted to fulfill their dreams and experience the “cross roads of the world” at 12 o’clock a.m. None of us had specifically thought about shopping because I believed that the stores would be closed owing to the fact that it was Thanksgiving. I was very embarrassed one we arrived in the Manhattan; most of the stores had opened at 12:00 am to allow shoppers an early jump on BF shopping. My friends thought that the stores being open was surreal. I was not as impressed. Having lived in New York City for the past 35 years I was used to shopping at all hours of the day.

It seems like the each year more stores opened their doors earlier. This year a record number of stores across the nation opened their doors at midnight on Thanksgiving Day.  Other stores challenged the established custom and declared their intention to open on Thanksgiving Day. Large national chains like Walmart, The Gap, Target, Toys R Us, Best Buy and Sears opened their doors on Thanksgiving Day. Here in NYC I had no problem shopping on Thanksgiving Day at the smaller local stores.

The idea of starting “BF” on Thanksgiving Day has not been  universally welcomed. Fox News conducted an online survey to find out the public’s stance on Thanksgiving Day store openings. Viewers were asked the simply question: “Should Retail Stores open Thanksgiving?” Understanding that the survey was not (too) scientific I was still surprised by the results. 81.08 % of the people who responded believed that the stores should not open on America’s day of giving thanks. These responders believed that “the workers should be given a rest and so should everyone else.” Yet, shoppers went to stores in record numbers on Thanksgiving Day.

Much was made out of the fact that some workers of Walmart and their supporters promised to strike the world’s largest retail store on BF. Small protests were reported at some of the Walmart stores. Yet, these protests were nothing like the workers had promised or the press had envisioned. The wildcat protests did not deter shoppers from entering the stores. Shoppers might have sympathized with the workers’ demands for higher wages and better working conditions but they still shopped in Walmart. The giant retailer reported that it had a big day at the register. At Walmart stores the Thanksgiving Day spirit was drowned out by the hum of cash registers recording sales.  

Last year on BF stores set a sales record for the day. This year Thanksgiving store openings  cut into Black Friday sales. Retail forecasters predicted that this year’s day total sales revenue would not equal last year’s phenomenal amount. National Retail Federation predicts that sales during this holiday season will increase by only 4.1% in comparison to last years 5.6%. Yet, online shopping was expected to increase by 12% over last years figures. This fact must influence the sales revenue forecast. I believe that retailers’ push of shopping on BF is a direct response to shoppers preferring to shop online. Stores must maintain a substantial workforce while supporting a physical place to sale its goods. Therefore getting shoppers to physically enter the stores is a priority, if not a must. Online sales companies do not have the high overhead that the giant retailers do. They can sell the same goods at lower costs and have been doing so for years. It is now being reported that online sellers had a record day on BF.

In my opinion the growth of the Internet and Social Media have forever changed how retailers do business. Most Americans use their Smartphone’s free applications to learn about sales and bargains. Retailers recognize this fundamental change in how today’s consumer shops. To better direct the shopper to their bargains the retailers have developed websites and facebook pages to help the consumer navigate all of the BF sales. Some stores have developed their own Smartphone applications to help shoppers navigate their particular store’s sales. The competition between giant retailers is ferocious. The online sellers pose a serious threat to the traditional retailers’ profit margins. Not to be left out; small retailers participated in this and their own Black Saturday.

The truth is that many of the best deals during the year are not offered on BF. According to Times Magazine the best day for the consumer is Labor Day. Yahoo finance reports that good sales can be found during the year and not just on any particular day. Clearly the “brick and mortar” retailers want to compete more effectively with the online sellers. Traditional stores are content using BF or any other marketing gimmick to get shoppers back in their stores.