A look back at how much Black Friday has changed over the years

Áine CainNov 29, 2019, 17:47 IST

Black Friday has been a significant shopping event in the United States for the past 20 or so years.
The day after Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday shopping season.
But with the rise of e-commerce, Black Friday has undergone a few key changes in recent years.
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As the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday has long been a crucial day for retailers.

But the storied day of doorbuster deals has changed quite a bit in recent years. The rise of e-commerce has thinned the crowds of shoppers willing to brave a post-Thanksgiving hangover spent lugging around merchandise.

Business Insider scoured through the Getty and Reuters picture archives to find photos of Black Fridays of old. The photographs indicate some clear changes that have occurred between shopping events of the early 2000s and more recent Black Fridays, although the day remains a significant day for plenty of shoppers.

Here's a look at how Black Friday has changed over time:

See A look back at how much Black Friday has changed over the years >>

Black Friday as we know it really took hold in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Source: Business Insider

News reports circulated a popular myth about Black Friday, explaining that its name referred to retailers trying to be "in the black" in terms of profits.

The term "Black Friday" actually dates back to a financial crash that occurred in 1869. The term took on a meaning in the retail world in the 1950s in Philadelphia.

Source: Business Insider, The Daily Journal, The Tampa Bay Times, Citizens' Voice, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlanta Constitution, The Times-Tribune, The Daily Reporter

And what had started out as an unspoken phenomenon became a staple of the retail world.

Source: Business Insider

Still, Black Friday was never the top holiday shopping day by sales even during the late 1990s.

Source: The International Council of Shopping Centers

By the early 2000s, the date took on a special significance for consumers in the United States.

Source: The Daily Journal, The Tampa Bay Times, Citizens' Voice, The Los Angeles Times

Traditionally, deal-seeking shoppers from across the nation would wake up super early ...

Source: The Daily Journal, The Tampa Bay Times, Citizens' Voice, The Los Angeles Times

... sometimes even camping outside their preferred store ...

Source: The Daily Journal, The Tampa Bay Times, Citizens' Voice, The Los Angeles Times

... all just to get an extra head start on rival customers.

Source: The Daily Journal, The Tampa Bay Times, Citizens' Voice, The Los Angeles Times

Retail employees, on the other hand, would hunker down and prepare for pandemonium.

Source: Business Insider

Retail employees tell Business Insider that this level of chaos can still break out today on Black Friday.

Of course, large crowds don't always promise big returns for retailers.

Source: Reuters

Deep discounting meant to attract Black Friday shoppers amid the 2008 financial crisis caused department store stocks to plummet, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

And 2008 wasn't the only gloomy year for Black Friday. Overall spending volume on the day after Thanksgiving also fell in 2014.

Source: BestBlackFriday.com, Forbes

But Black Friday hasn't diminished or gone away as much as it's changed.

Source: Business Insider

Today, perhaps the biggest challenge to the traditional Black Friday model has been the rise of e-commerce.

Source: Business Insider

In 2018, more consumers shopped online than in stores on Black Friday itself.

Source: Business Insider

And, influenced by the rise of Amazon and the online retail giant's summertime Prime Day, retailers have experimented with unrolling deals throughout November and the entire holiday season.

Source: Business Insider

Back before e-commerce grew into the behemoth it is today, Black Friday could be a far more taxing experience.

Shoppers would have to brave sometimes intense crowds ...

Source: New York Magazine

... and, in some tragic instances, risk brawls, injury, or even death.

Source: Business Insider

At the very least, it's tough to drag yourself into the mall on the day after Thanksgiving, when you'd probably rather be relaxing.

Despite all that, in-store events continue to tempt shoppers to this day.

Another thing that has changed significantly in recent years is Black Friday's reach.

Traditionally, the term has been synonymous with consumer culture in the United States.

Lately, retailers across the globe have begun to adopt Black Friday-style events ...

Source: Quartz

... with events kicking off everywhere from Belarus to London to São Paulo.

Source: Quartz

In 2018, Amazon even wooed London shoppers with a yoga class to celebrate Black Friday, declaring its pop-up store the "Home of Black Friday."

Source: Campaign

On the domestic front, foot traffic in stores on Black Friday declined by 1.7% between 2017 and 2018 in the US, CNBC reported.

Source: CNBC

Between the lessening importance of in-store events, pivot to e-commerce, and expansion on a global scale, Black Friday's role has changed over time, even as it remains a significant part of the retail calendar.

Source: CNBC, Business Insider, Business Insider

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A look back at how much Black Friday has changed over the years

Black Friday as we know it really took hold in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

News reports circulated a popular myth about Black Friday, explaining that its name referred to retailers trying to be "in the black" in terms of profits.

And what had started out as an unspoken phenomenon became a staple of the retail world.

Still, Black Friday was never the top holiday shopping day by sales even during the late 1990s.

By the early 2000s, the date took on a special significance for consumers in the United States.

Traditionally, deal-seeking shoppers from across the nation would wake up super early ...

... sometimes even camping outside their preferred store ...

... all just to get an extra head start on rival customers.

Retail employees, on the other hand, would hunker down and prepare for pandemonium.

Retail employees tell Business Insider that this level of chaos can still break out today on Black Friday.

Of course, large crowds don't always promise big returns for retailers.

Deep discounting meant to attract Black Friday shoppers amid the 2008 financial crisis caused department store stocks to plummet, Reuters reported.

And 2008 wasn't the only gloomy year for Black Friday. Overall spending volume on the day after Thanksgiving also fell in 2014.

But Black Friday hasn't diminished or gone away as much as it's changed.

Today, perhaps the biggest challenge to the traditional Black Friday model has been the rise of e-commerce.

In 2018, more consumers shopped online than in stores on Black Friday itself.

And, influenced by the rise of Amazon and the online retail giant's summertime Prime Day, retailers have experimented with unrolling deals throughout November and the entire holiday season.

Back before e-commerce grew into the behemoth it is today, Black Friday could be a far more taxing experience.

Shoppers would have to brave sometimes intense crowds ...

... and, in some tragic instances, risk brawls, injury, or even death.

At the very least, it's tough to drag yourself into the mall on the day after Thanksgiving, when you'd probably rather be relaxing.

Despite all that, in-store events continue to tempt shoppers to this day.

Another thing that has changed significantly in recent years is Black Friday's reach.

Traditionally, the term has been synonymous with consumer culture in the United States.

Lately, retailers across the globe have begun to adopt Black Friday-style events ...

... with events kicking off everywhere from Belarus to London to São Paulo.

In 2018, Amazon even wooed London shoppers with a yoga class to celebrate Black Friday, declaring its pop-up store the "Home of Black Friday."

On the domestic front, foot traffic in stores on Black Friday declined by 1.7% between 2017 and 2018 in the US, CNBC reported.

Between the lessening importance of in-store events, pivot to e-commerce, and expansion on a global scale, Black Friday's role has changed over time, even as it remains a significant part of the retail calendar.