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Stuff You Should Know

Selects: How Black Friday Works

Published November 29, 2025
View Show Notes

About This Episode

Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant examine the origins, evolution, and current state of Black Friday in the United States. They trace how the day after Thanksgiving became associated with holiday shopping through department store parades, how the term "Black Friday" arose from Philadelphia police and transportation workers, and how retailers later reshaped its meaning into a profit narrative. The hosts discuss the economics of holiday retail, doorbuster tactics and their risks, violent and deadly crowd incidents, worker and scheduling issues around Thanksgiving openings, and counter-movements like Buy Nothing Day and China's Singles Day.

Topics Covered

Consumerism Retail distribution Online retail Holidays and family gatherings Workplace dynamics Protest movements Black Friday Crowd safety Marketing and customer education Online scams and fraud

Disclaimer: We provide independent summaries of podcasts and are not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by any podcast or creator. All podcast names and content are the property of their respective owners. The views and opinions expressed within the podcasts belong solely to the original hosts and guests and do not reflect the views or positions of Summapod.

Quick Takeaways

  • Black Friday as a named shopping event is relatively recent, but the tradition of starting Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving dates back to late 19th-century department store parades featuring Santa Claus.
  • The term "Black Friday" originally came from frustrated Philadelphia police and transport workers describing the chaos downtown from visiting Army-Navy game crowds, not from retailers "going into the black."
  • Retailers deliberately created and promoted Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday as self-fulfilling shopping events, sometimes at odds with optimal long-term profitability.
  • Doorbuster deals are genuine but extremely limited loss leaders that function as bait-and-switch tactics, contributing to dangerous crowd surges, trampling incidents, and occasional violence.
  • Opening on Thanksgiving and extending Black Friday hours raises serious concerns about workers' rights and the erosion of a holiday traditionally reserved for family and rest, prompting strikes and public criticism.
  • Alternatives like Buy Nothing Day and culture-jamming protests aim to highlight overconsumption by encouraging people to abstain from shopping and reflect on their relationship to consumer culture.
  • China's Singles Day on November 11 has grown into the world's largest online shopping day, with spending that dwarfs U.S. Cyber Monday, and encourages people to buy for themselves.
  • Despite dangerous incidents and growing online shopping, the in-store Black Friday experience persists partly because it has become a tradition and a kind of competitive "sport" for some shoppers.

Podcast Notes

Intro framing: Black Friday as a fading cultural phenomenon

Hosts reflect on the episode as a document of a changing custom

Josh notes they inadvertently documented a fading cultural phenomenon[2:02]
They jokingly suggest future historians may rely on this episode[2:04]

Show introduction and hosts

Standard Stuff You Should Know intro

Josh welcomes listeners to Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com[2:12]
He introduces himself and co-host Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant and notes Jerry is present[2:29]

Light banter about Jerry and miso soup

Josh jokes he physically turns like Bigfoot to confirm Jerry is there[2:34]
They joke Jerry "stinks like miso" in a pleasant, umami way[3:01]

Hosts' personal stance on Black Friday

Initial reaction to Black Friday shopping

Josh asks if Chuck has ever been to a Black Friday sale; Chuck firmly says no and emphasizes how much he dislikes the idea[3:11]
They characterize Black Friday as more intense than a typical sale and say many people avoid it because they are scared of the crowds and chaos[3:25]

Black Friday as divisive

Chuck suggests it's a divisive topic: some people love going, others see it as the last thing they'd want to do[3:34]
Josh notes some people treat it casually as part of a normal shopping day, while hardcore shoppers show up hours earlier and may act aggressively[4:06]
Josh and Chuck agree they would rather do unpleasant tasks like going to the DMV than attend a doorbuster sale[4:19]

Respecting others' preferences

Chuck clarifies they are not condemning people who enjoy Black Friday, as long as participants behave reasonably and don't "turn into a monster"[5:25]
They joke about Chuck inventing words like "dispergence" and the idea of a Chuck dictionary of made-up terms[5:10]

Defining Black Friday and its basic nature

Explanation for non-U.S. listeners

Josh notes Black Friday is a uniquely American experience and wants to explain it for non-U.S. listeners[5:44]
Chuck defines Black Friday as the day after Thanksgiving, now known as the biggest shopping day of the year with many specials and sales[5:48]

Origins of post-Thanksgiving shopping and the term "Black Friday"

Early holiday shopping tradition from parades

Josh explains that starting Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving dates to late 19th/early 20th century department stores[6:27]
• Stores like Macy's held Thanksgiving Day parades featuring Santa Claus to kick off holiday shopping
Chuck notes Santa usually appears at the end of the parade to signal the official start of the holiday season[7:41]
Josh says Santa's first public appearance after Thanksgiving helped cement the idea of beginning holiday shopping the next day[7:45]

Early uses of the term "Black Friday"

Josh states the term "Black Friday" goes back to the mid-20th century, but initially did not relate to shopping[8:00]
He mentions factory owners as one source of early use of the term[8:06]
Chuck brings up the common but inaccurate story that Black Friday refers to stores going into the black financially that day[8:00]
Josh calls that origin story a made-up fallacy used to gloss over the original meaning[8:26]

Philadelphia origin: traffic and Army-Navy crowds

Josh explains the accepted origin is 1960s Philadelphia, where police, bus drivers, and city workers coined "Black Friday"[8:26]
• Out-of-towners arrived for the Army-Navy game on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and spent Friday shopping downtown, causing gridlock and chaos
Authorities used the term "Black Friday" partly to discourage people from going downtown due to the headaches it caused[8:26]
• Josh cites a 1975 AP article quoting a Gimbels sales manager saying bus and cab drivers used the term because of the headaches it caused them
Chuck notes he learned this origin story from the research and had previously believed the "in the black" narrative[8:26]

Retailers rebrand Black Friday

Josh explains that as the term spread, retail lobbies and stores wanted a more positive origin story to attract shoppers[9:13]
They promoted the idea that Black Friday was when stores went from red to black ink, despite this not being historically true[9:24]
Josh explains "in the red" and "in the black" come from handwritten accounting using red ink for losses and black for profit[9:56]

Economic importance of the holiday shopping season

Holiday period and retailer profits

Chuck notes that holiday shopping season accounts for 20-40% of retail profits[10:07]
He gives the example of his wife Emily's small business, where a large percentage of yearly sales occur in those couple of months[10:20]
Josh cites a 2013 National Retail Federation prediction that Americans would spend $602 billion in November and December alone[10:26]

Personal holiday spending habits

Chuck says he and Emily no longer exchange many gifts and sometimes instead invest in home improvements or services for family members[11:05]
• He describes pooling resources with his siblings to get his mom larger gifts like a gas fireplace, a garden fence, or kitchen tiling
He notes Emily's family still does more traditional gift swapping, which satisfies his urge to participate in Christmas gifting[11:33]

Creation of Black Friday as the "busiest shopping day" and extensions

From myth to reality as the busiest day

Josh explains that for years the Saturday before Christmas was actually the busiest shopping day, often due to procrastinators[12:20]
Retailers preferred to promote an earlier kickoff, so they began calling Black Friday the busiest shopping day, which eventually became true[12:37]

Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday

Josh notes Black Friday's success led retailers to invent Cyber Monday in 2005 as an online version of Black Friday[12:37]
• They claimed workers returned to work and shopped online on Monday, which was initially not true but became self-fulfilling through marketing and media
Josh says American Express invented Small Business Saturday in 2010 to encourage people to support small businesses, especially those that accept AmEx[13:04]
He points out retailers are literally creating days to tell people they are missing out on deals if they are not shopping[12:58]

Thanksgiving openings and the shrinking holiday calendar

Retail encroachment into Thanksgiving Day

Josh notes that starting in 2012, Walmart opened at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, breaking the previous norm of closing that day[16:28]
He mentions a general strike was called in response, arguing stores should not open on Thanksgiving, which had been sacrosanct as a family holiday[16:28]
Chuck adds that in the current year of the discussion, Macy's, JCPenney, Sears, and Toys R Us were also opening on Thanksgiving evening[16:28]
They note Kmart planned to open at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving and run Black Friday for 41 hours straight[16:25]
Josh characterizes this as retail "ruining" Thanksgiving evening by turning it into part of a continuous sales event[18:41]

Calendar quirks and shortened seasons

Chuck explains that in the year discussed, Thanksgiving fell on November 28, the latest in 11 years, shortening the shopping season by six days[17:17]
He suggests this is a reason retailers began opening on Thanksgiving to recapture lost days[18:09]
Josh notes that in other countries like Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands, which do not have Black Friday, people spend more over a longer holiday period[19:48]
• He argues that by fixing a "start" date with Black Friday, U.S. retailers may have constrained their own potential revenue window
He concludes that retailers painted themselves into a corner by making Black Friday such a big, fixed event and are now trying to push into Thanksgiving[20:25]

Participation rates, online trends, and the "sport" of Black Friday

How many people shop on Black Friday

Chuck cites a 2013 figure that 53% of American adults said they would shop on Black Friday[20:39]
He notes that in 2011, 152 million Americans shopped on Black Friday, averaging three hours of shopping[20:25]

Internet's impact on Black Friday

Josh says Thanksgiving Day is the fastest-growing online shopping day[21:12]
He reports about 70% of those who plan to shop on Black Friday say they will do some or most of it online[22:00]
Despite online growth, Josh argues in-store Black Friday is unlikely to disappear because it has become a tradition and a kind of sport[22:31]
• He quotes a consumer analyst who notes people treat it like a competition, including aggressive behaviors like throwing fists while chasing deals

Doorbusters, bait-and-switch, and shopper behavior

Definition and history of doorbusters

Josh explains "doorbuster" in print dates back to 1917, with anecdotes to 1892[22:03]
Doorbusters are deeply discounted deals on a few select items meant to lure shoppers, such as cheap laptops or TVs[23:04]
Chuck points out these are often genuinely great deals, like a good laptop for $180 or an iPod for half off[23:14]

Scarcity and bait-and-switch dynamics

Chuck calls doorbusters a "scam" and a bait-and-switch scheme[24:12]
• Stores stock only a very limited number of these advertised items, often around 10 units, and include fine print like "one per person" and "while supplies last" with no rain checks
He explains shoppers enticed by doorbusters often end up buying regular-priced or only slightly discounted items once the specials are gone[24:12]
Josh emphasizes that because whoever physically grabs the item first gets the deal, this structure encourages stampedes and literal door-busting[24:12]

Major crowd disasters and trampling incidents

2008 Walmart trampling death in Valley Stream, Long Island

Chuck recounts a 2008 incident at a Walmart in Valley Stream, Long Island, where crowds gathered from 5 p.m. Thanksgiving for a 5 a.m. opening[28:36]
• About 1,000 people were in line 12 hours early; by 4 a.m. there were about 2,000 people present
Police originally set up a buffer zone with barricades, which was breached around 2 a.m.; police later left, saying crowd control wasn't in their job description[29:06]
An employee brought family members inside the store ahead of the crowd, angering people who felt others were cutting the line[29:37]
Josh describes the store's vestibule design: an outer door, an enclosed glass area, then inner doors into the store[29:50]
Hundreds of people were pressed against the outer doors in the vestibule area, causing crushing conditions hours before opening[29:50]
Workers saw pregnant shopper Leanna Lockley being crushed against the doors and opened them slightly to pull her inside, which triggered a surge[30:43]
Despite the dangerous situation, management conducted a 10-9-8 countdown to opening while people were still being crushed[30:45]
When the doors opened, the crowd pressure broke them off, literally "busting" the doors and sending a wave of people forward[30:49]
Josh describes how an employee was blown from the outer doors, through the vestibule, and through the inner doors by the sheer force of the crowd[32:24]
Employees had been told to form a human line but were immediately overwhelmed; some climbed on vending machines to escape[32:04]
Employee Jdimytai Damour was assigned to help anyone who fell; when the doors collapsed on him, he was trampled by thousands and died of asphyxiation[33:14]
Josh mentions John Seabrook's New Yorker article "Crush Point," which analyzes this incident and the science of crowd crushes more broadly[32:19]

Commonality of trampling and online videos

Josh notes trampling incidents are more common than people realize, even when they do not result in deaths[33:17]
He suggests searching YouTube for Black Friday videos to see crowds climbing over people as doors open[34:03]
• He observes that in many videos some people help others up, but many simply step over or on people to reach sale items

Other violent incidents and crowd behavior critiques

2008 Toys R Us shooting in Palm Desert, California

Chuck describes an incident at a Toys R Us in Palm Desert where two women fought, then their husbands escalated the conflict[35:13]
Both men were carrying guns while Christmas shopping, chased each other through the store, and ended up shooting and killing each other[35:26]
Josh notes that despite firing inside a store, their poor gun-handling meant no bystanders were killed, but the incident was still shocking[34:34]

2011 pepper spray incident in Los Angeles

Chuck recounts a 2011 Los Angeles Walmart incident where a woman pepper sprayed people in the video game section[34:12]
Initially she was portrayed as a selfish Black Friday shopper, but later said she was defending her children, who were being punched and kicked as others tried to grab an Xbox[35:56]
Josh notes around 20 people were affected, creating chaos and some trampling, but the woman then continued shopping and checked out with her items[35:59]
He points out that some shoppers in the area stayed to continue pursuing deals despite the pepper spray, wiping their eyes while waiting to buy[36:15]
As of about a year after the incident, police still had not filed charges, suggesting they might have believed her self-defense account[36:00]

Comparisons to concert disasters and crowd management

Josh and Chuck reference a past episode about the Cincinnati Who concert disaster, where general admission and locked doors led to people being crushed[36:17]
They note that after that, general admission seating was largely eliminated for big arena shows, illustrating that policy changes can prevent crowd disasters[37:21]
Chuck asks why similar regulatory changes have not been applied to Black Friday openings, given the known risks[38:29]

Worker issues, strikes, and scheduling on Thanksgiving

Employee perspectives on Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Chuck emphasizes that no one wants to work on Thanksgiving, and that many retailers opening that day rely on workers with little choice[37:30]
Josh notes a 2012 planned Walmart employee strike over working conditions and scheduling, which ultimately had limited participation[38:15]
• Only 26 of 4,200 Walmart stores reported striking employees, likely due to fear of job loss

Kmart controversy over early Thanksgiving opening

Chuck says Kmart was criticized for opening at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving, effectively running continuous Black Friday hours[38:35]
Kmart claimed employees were not forced to work, but critics pointed out many were part-time seasonal workers without guaranteed holiday rights[39:20]
Josh notes that with no federal mandate for holiday time off for such workers, they risk termination if they decline shifts, effectively forcing them to work[39:49]

Alternatives and critiques: Buy Nothing Day and culture jamming

Buy Nothing Day origins and goals

Chuck introduces Buy Nothing Day, started by artist Ted Dave in the 1990s to encourage people to abstain from buying anything for 24 hours[40:07]
The idea is to fight consumerism and "the power" by opting out of Black Friday shopping entirely[40:44]
Josh explains that participants are encouraged to reflect on their own consumption and waste instead of shopping[40:40]
Participants are asked not to "cheat" by filling up gas or buying extra groceries beforehand; the ideal is a genuinely no-purchase day[40:43]

Adbusters and protest actions

Chuck notes that Adbusters, known for Occupy Wall Street, adopted Buy Nothing Day and helped popularize it[40:37]
They describe protest actions such as "zombie" shoppers who shuffle through malls to parody mindless consumption[41:54]
Other actions include dressing as sheep to symbolize following the herd, and setting up credit card cut-up stations where people can destroy their cards[41:41]
Josh mentions a "whirligig conga line" prank designed to disrupt or draw attention in stores[42:25]
He says the goal is to serve as a mirror to consumers, making them reflect on how ridiculous their behavior may appear[41:58]

Singles Day in China and global shopping comparisons

Emergence and scale of Singles Day

Chuck introduces China's Singles Day on November 11 (11/11), originally a day for single people to celebrate being single[42:36]
He explains that retailers, particularly online, turned it into a massive shopping event encouraging people to buy for themselves[42:36]
In the year discussed, Chinese consumers spent 5.7 billion dollars on Singles Day, nearly three times the amount of U.S. Cyber Monday[43:54]
Chuck notes that in the first six minutes of that Singles Day, shoppers spent 160 million dollars online[43:54]

Self-shopping on Black Friday

Chuck observes that many Black Friday shoppers also buy for themselves, not just for others[44:08]
He cites survey data that around 41-47% of people who say they will shop on Black Friday intend to do most of their shopping for themselves[44:04]
He shares that when he goes out to shop for Christmas, he often picks up something modest for himself as well[44:04]

Closing reflections on behavior and Thanksgiving

Behavioral expectations for Black Friday participants

Josh reiterates they do not begrudge anyone enjoying Black Friday if it is their thing[45:11]
He emphasizes the key is to "act like a human being" and not harm others or take anyone's life in pursuit of deals[45:15]

Thanksgiving as a time for presence and rest

Josh and Chuck encourage listeners to have a very nice Thanksgiving, enjoy the people they are with, and relax[45:23]
They suggest turning off smartphones and being in the moment with friends or family[45:30]
Josh gives listeners permission to correct anyone who wrongly claims tryptophan alone makes people sleepy at Thanksgiving[45:37]
They close with well-wishes to Americans and listeners in other parts of the world, hoping everyone is well during the holiday[45:46]

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Many "traditions" like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday are deliberately created by retailers and can become self-fulfilling realities, so it's worth interrogating where our habits come from and who benefits from them.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What regular shopping or holiday rituals do you follow that might have originated from marketing campaigns rather than personal values?
  • • How might your spending patterns change if you evaluated each "special day" by asking who benefits most from your participation?
  • • What is one retail-driven tradition you could consciously scale back or reshape this year to better align with your priorities?
2

Extreme bargain hunting can carry hidden costs-time, stress, safety risks, and ethical compromises-that may outweigh the financial savings of a doorbuster deal.

Reflection Questions:

  • • When have you prioritized getting a deal over your own time, comfort, or well-being, and was it really worth it in hindsight?
  • • How could you factor in your time, stress level, and safety as "costs" the next time you're tempted by an aggressive promotion or limited-time offer?
  • • What is one situation this season where you could deliberately choose a calmer, slightly more expensive option to protect your peace of mind?
3

Choosing not to participate-through actions like Buy Nothing Day-can be a powerful form of protest and self-reflection that challenges norms of constant consumption.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What emotions come up for you when you imagine going an entire day without buying anything at all, even small purchases?
  • • How might a personally defined "no-buy" day help you notice unconscious habits around comfort spending or impulse purchases?
  • • When could you schedule a 24-hour pause on buying in the next month, and what would you like to pay attention to during that experiment?
4

Designing systems and events without accounting for real human behavior-like crowd surges at openings-creates predictable disasters, so safety and behavior patterns need to be built into any large-scale plan.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in your work or community life are you assuming people will behave "perfectly" instead of planning for crowding, stress, or competition?
  • • How could you redesign one process you influence (an event, a launch, a sign-up) to be safer and smoother under worst-case behavior, not best-case intentions?
  • • What recent situation felt chaotic or unsafe that you could analyze for structural fixes rather than blaming individuals alone?
5

Protecting time for genuine rest and connection-like keeping Thanksgiving focused on people rather than shopping-requires conscious boundaries in the face of cultural and commercial pressure.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Which holidays or regular days in your year do you most want to reclaim from work, screens, or errands to focus on people and rest?
  • • How might you communicate clear boundaries to family, friends, or colleagues about keeping certain days free from commercial activities?
  • • What is one specific boundary you could set for the next holiday (for example, phone use, work emails, or shopping) to make the day feel more meaningful?

Episode Summary - Notes by Dakota

Selects: How Black Friday Works
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