Should Black Friday be called “Black Thursday Night” instead?

It's not how fast or how strong you are that matters on Black Friday, but it's whether you are faster and stronger than your closest rivals.

Originally, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, when retailers across the US make huge discounts on their products to lure customers. The name itself is a reference to profit, since retailers usually “moved into the Black”, or became profitable for the year, on that special day.

Indeed, for stores the Friday after Thanksgiving can be the day when they have the highest sales of the year no matter how bad the economic crisis can be. And surprise, surprise! Sales on 2011's Black Friday went up to $ 11.4 billion which represents a rise of 6,6% compared to 2010's sales!

But what is exactly Black Friday for American people?

There is such frenzy and madness on that day, with everyone fighting and pushing each other to get a grip of the item they must-have-and-cannot-leave-the-store-without _ that it's hard to believe they are usually nice civil people. Indeed, it seems that this good behavior is for all the other days of the year, just not for that Friday where everything is turned into a “Dead or Alive” matter. For example, last year's Black Friday, a lady even pepper-sprayed over 20 people just because they “threatened her grip on an X box”! But you will be happy to know that in the end, she was able to buy it, so I guess the pepper-spray was worth it!

However, all this vivid craziness is not the biggest issue of Black Friday, the worse is to come ...

Indeed, in recent years, the Friday after Thanksgiving has become more of a race for retail chains in which they compete to be the first one to open their door on that special day. That is because _ they believe that stores which have the earliest start time can attract the most buyers, and so make the most sales and profits. Thus, stores started to open earlier and earlier every year : 5 a.m, 4 a.m, 3 a.m, and eventually at midnight last year.

It has provoked huge complaints, especially from employees, who now have to spend their Thanksgiving, a family holiday, away from home. It could have been worth it, if at least not all the malls were opening earlier! By all opening so early, not only does no one benefit from it, but worse, they are jeopardizing a religious and traditional holiday where families should just be gathered all together around a nice turkey-dinner to share.

But about that issue, I guess only time will tell _ how it goes, so we have to be patient and wait to see how “Black Thursday Night” will go this year!

Chloé B.