Black Friday: “What’s the Hype?”
Thesis Statement: Though many economists and journalists see both pros and cons in the day of mass discounts, Black Friday benefits both the seller and the buyer.
I. Introduction
1. Consumer society
2. History of the name ‘Black Friday’
II. Profits of the Black Friday
1. Benefits for the customer
2. Benefits for the retailer
III. Statistics
1. Growing amount of people shopping on Black Friday
2. New ways to shop on Black Friday
IV. Conclusion
A. Thesis Statement
B. Closing Comments
Friday after the Thanksgiving Day is usually called "Black." Traditionally, it is the starting season of Christmas sales. On this day, the largest trading networks open their doors for the customers at 4 am or even earlier (sometimes at midnight) and offer significant discounts - up to 90%.
We cannot deny that our society is a consumer society. Demand determines supply and that is why the amount of shops and products has increased so fast for the last several decades. Producers try to make more products faster and advertisers try to prove the society that each of us needs a certain thing which is represented on the market.
Consumer society is more developed in countries with rapid economic and technological development, where social changes are followed by income growth, which changes significantly the structure of consumption, reduction of working hours and increased leisure time.
It is extremely important for the producer to make people believe that they cannot live without things which they didn’t even know about several years ago. The fact that people are ready to pay most of their monthly income for a gadget is undeniable. Moreover, people are ready to spend all they have if they are proposed to buy things with a discount. Here comes the purpose of various discounts and namely the Black Friday.
The custom of these sales before Christmas established in the XIX century, and the term "Black Friday" appeared in the 1960's. There are several theories about the origin of the name. According to one of these versions Friday is called "black" because of the huge profits that traders obtain on this day. Traditionally, the losses in the accounting books are written down in red ink, while revenue - in black. Thus, the term "Black Friday" undoubtedly represents revenues.
According to the second version, "Black Friday" derived its name because of the huge traffic jams: millions of Americans after Thanksgiving rush to the shops and then return to their homes in other cities, etc. In this sense, "Black Friday" is the symbol of the problems for the employees of road services and police.
Black Friday is a great chance to buy things you always wanted to have for a really low price. However, if people think that only they gain profits from this they are wrong. Statistics show that about 20% of all retail sales in the U.S. are made between "Black Friday" and Christmas. Adam Ozimek represents his idea of the pros of black Fridays:
“Stores must sell their goods at prices that cover the wholesale cost of the …