Win on Black Friday 2022

Tools, apps and e-commerce websites

September 2, 2022

We’re already gearing up for the most important day in shopping – Black Friday 2022! Black Friday comes with an interesting history. Here, we give you a basic overview of Black Friday: it’s history, Black Friday then versus now, and how eCommerce retailers can plan ahead with winning Black Friday ad campaigns.

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday started a few days after Thanksgiving on the 24th of September 1869 in Philadelphia, USA. The term, “Black Friday”, was coined as the result of a dark history: Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, two Wall Street financiers, started a conspiracy to buy up as much US gold as possible with the hopes to sell this gold for sizeable profits.

The result? US Prices dropped by 18%, resulting in shopping mania – from farmers to Wall Street elites.

So why is Black Friday called Black Friday? Well, it’s due to its association with the calamity and mayhem of this particular day. Extraordinary discounts impacted traffic and brought about massive crowds, which police officers had to control in miserable weather.

Crowds lining up for discounted goods in 1968 (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Black Friday Then vs Now

You’ve seen those images and videos before, or perhaps you’ve been part of it, where people are running amuck in stores trying to get their hands on the newest Samsung TV.

Luckily, Black Friday has evolved to be more customer-centric in recent years, particularly since several traditional brick-and-mortar marketplaces have planned for this day, implementing mechanisms that keep customers safe. E-retail marketplaces have also implemented Black Friday deals and marketing campaigns, which is less risky, especially given that you can shop from home!