Across the world, today marks the highly anticipated shopping event that is Black Friday. What initially started off as an American tradition, being the shopping day after Thanksgiving, has quickly caught on in African countries like Nigeria. In fact, we’ve caught on so well this year that online shopping portal, Konga reportedly received over N100 million worth of orders in its first four hours of Black Friday Yakata Sales.
For the curious ones among us who want to know more about this unique celebration, here are some fun facts compiled with you in mind:
1. Black Friday actually started off as a negative term. Since the 19th century, it referred to the day associated with massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks in American cities during the pre-Christmas shopping season. Retailers eventually chose to make it positive , making “Black” symbolize Profit as is the case in Accounting.
2. The new Black Friday name was soon popularised in 1966 after a story on it appeared in an ad in The American Philatelist, a stamp collectors’ magazine.
3. Debunking a popular myth, Black Friday was not initially the day where slave traders gave discounts at auctions.
4. In 2014, spending volume on Black Friday fell for the first time since the 2008 recession in the United States. According to Wikipedia, $50.9 billion was spent during the 4-day Black Friday weekend, down 11% from the previous year.
5. In the US, Black Friday even poses a security threat to citizens. There have been unfortunate deaths from stampedes on shopping lines in the past, and some prospective shoppers also camp out by store entrances to be the first in line, using small generators that are deemed hazardous. Fortunately, Nigeria’s Black Friday is much safer and organised.
Do you know other Black Friday facts? Share them with the community in the comments section below.
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