We have all become familiar with Black Friday and the super sales that come along with it. However, with retailers appearing to have a greater sense of urgency for revenue, we may need to change Black Friday to Black Thanksgiving. Several retailers seem to be following Toys ‘R’ Us’ 2010 lead by kicking off Black Friday specials on Thanksgiving night. Wal-Mart stores will be opening at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, while many other stores plan to follow suit.
The day after Thanksgiving traditionally kicks off the official Christmas shopping season and is the busiest day of the year for retailers. The term ‘Black Friday’ was originated Sept. 24, 1864 in regards to the stock-market panic when gold prices plunged to new lows. It then evolved into a description of the manic crowds at stores in the early 1960s. Several years later Black Friday was explained as the point at which retailers begin to turn in a profit, or are “in the black.”
Not officially ranked the number-one shopping day of the year until 2005, Black Friday is not truly a holiday, though many employers give their employees that day off as part of the Thanksgiving leave. This has helped to increase the number of shoppers waiting in lines and flooding stores to get the very best price on items on their Christmas list.
Though retailers generally make some profit each quarter, the Christmas shopping season is of great importance to bring in not only profit, but to compensate for any loses from other quarters.
Violence has been reported during Black Friday events, with crowds becoming unruly, customers pushing others out of the way to get the last of an items and more, but the first official death was recorded in Valley Stream, New York in 2008. According to the National Retail Federation and as reported in the New York Times, a crowd of more than 2,000 shoppers waited outside the local Wal-Mart for the 5 a.m. Black Friday opening. As the opening time approched the crowd drew anxious and when the doors were opened the crowd pushed forward, breaking the doors and trampling a 34-year-old employee to death. The shoppers showed no concern for the trampled employee, expressing they had been waiting in the cold and were not willing to wait any longer.  The crowd of shoppers had begun the wait at 9 p.m. Thanksgiving night.
In Wisconsin during the 2010 Black Friday event at a Toys ‘R’ Us, a woman was arrested outside the store after cutting line and threatening to shoot other shoppers who expressed objection.  Many others incidences are also logged down, including a Florida shopper who was waiting in line was arrested after others noticed him to be carrying a handgun, two knives and a can of pepper spray.
Target, Gap, Kohl’s, Toys “R” Us, Best Buy and Wal-Mart are just a few of the retailers who will start their Black Friday sales on the night of Thanksgiving, either opening at midnight or earlier.