The Story of Black Friday

Vol 28, Issue 11, 28 November 2025

For most people, Black Friday means eye-catching discounts, and it’s the unofficial global shopping holiday, but what is the real story behind Black Friday? This article might surprise you when you realize that Black Friday had nothing to do with shopping when the name first appeared.

The first use of “Black Friday” goes back to 1869 in the U.S. with two Wall Street speculators named Jay Gould and Jim Fisk. During that time, the gold market collapsed because these two men secretly tried to modify it. Their plan was simple: to buy massive amounts of gold, raise the price, and sell for a huge profit. But they failed shamefully. When the government discovered their plan released its own gold reserves into the market.

Against expectations, prices crashed immediately, causing financial panic across the country and thousands of businesses, including farmers, traders, and investors, went bankrupt. The name “Black Friday” came from that day, not because of discounts, but because the economy had turned dark with chaos.

Decades Later, the Name Took on a New Meaning in Philadelphia

Nearly a century later, in the 1950s, Black Friday found a completely different meaning. The day after Thanksgiving, huge crowds went into the Philadelphia to shop ahead of the Army–Navy football game, one of the city’s biggest events. Streets became crowded, stores were overwhelmed and shoplifting increased. Police officers were working so hard in exhausting shifts managing the chaos. Frustrated and tired, Philadelphia’s police force started calling the day: “Black Friday.”

After that, local newspapers picked the name up and people started to use it. Retailers hated it because it sounded negative, but they couldn’t prevent people from using it. For people in Philadelphia, “Black Friday” meant traffic jams, noise, and disorder, not traders hunting.

By the 1980s, stores decided to accept the name while giving it a new meaning. They introduced the idea that Black Friday was the day businesses moved from being “in the red” (unprofitable situation) to “in the black” (profitable market).

This explanation wasn’t historically accurate, but it was brilliant marketing. Consumers loved the idea, and retailers built on it. Soon, the day after Thanksgiving became the biggest shopping day of the year. Stores opened earlier, ads grew into massive campaigns, and shoppers lined up before sunrise. Black Friday officially transformed from a local event into a global tradition.

After all these years, Black Friday has become a worldwide event, even in places that don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Nowadays, stores offer exciting discounts not just for a day, but for a week or even a month. Social media also plays a major role in amplifying hype.

Black Friday isn’t just a shopping day.
It’s a lesson in how marketing can rewrite history and turn chaos into profit.