Franklin Matters: Franklin TV: Full-on Holiday Mode

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Franklin TV: Full-on Holiday Mode

Ready or Not – It’s Here

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 11/26/2023

Yep. It’s here. It’s all around us and expanding by the day. There were early signs in late October – commercials hinting at ‘the coming holidays’ well before Halloween. Get ready to get ready.

We are watching Black Friday transform from a Big Bargain Day after Turkey Day to a full-on Sensational Season of Stupendously Spectacular Sale Savings. – Srsly? It’s the mercantile engine that launches our holiday season with serious spending.

There’s more than one origin story for Black Friday. The mythology: Black Friday is about retail sales. After an entire year of operating at a loss (in the red) stores would supposedly earn a profit (go into the black) on the day after Thanksgiving with holiday shoppers spending heavily for Christmas gifts and decor.

Yes, but no.

In 1950s Philadelphia, police coined the term to describe chaos on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city for the Army-Navy football game on Saturday. Not only were police not able to take the day off, but they had to work long shifts coping with heavy crowds and traffic. Shoplifting also spiked amidst large crowds of shoppers. Hence, Black Friday.

In the eighties, retailers promoted the myth and opened their stores early – at 6 AM, then 5 AM, then 12 midnight, then …

This year the Black Friday Savings juggernaut began online – in early November. Too much, too soon? I haven’t finished my Halloween candy yet.

And – as always –

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