Whether or not you’re the type to queue up in front of the stores Thursday at midnight after a big turkey dinner, you probably know that Black Friday is a big deal in the United States. The term “Black Friday” originated in the mid-20th century to describe the fact that many employees would call in sick the day after Thanksgiving. It later became a description used by Philadelphia police officers for the congestion in their city due to shoppers clogging the streets and sidewalks. Later on, in the early 1980s, the expression took on a more positive economic meaning, and most people today associate the name “Black Friday” with retailers being “in the black,” or turning a profit (conversely, “in the red” means you have a negative balance in your ledger), which is what most stores hope to be when they hold their massive sales the day after Thanksgiving.
But do other countries have Black Friday, or something like it? We asked our eTutors.
China
Chinese Singles’ Day has changed its meaning over years. Singles’ Day (光棍节 Guānggùn jié) literally means “bare sticks holiday”. It is originally an unofficial festival among the younger generation in China to celebrate being single. November 11th (11/11) was chosen as the date for this holiday because the number “1” looks like an individual that is alone. Also, people may call this day “double eleven.”
In recent years, the media and shopping malls took advantage of this day and promoted a culture of “even though you don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend, at least you can make yourself feel better by shopping.” Hence, this festival has gradually become one of the largest online shopping days in China, even in the world. You will get great deals that day at a lot of malls and online shopping sites.
In China, the most popular online shopping sites are Alibaba (阿里巴巴 Ālǐbābā)’s Tmall (天猫 Tiān māo) and Taobao (淘宝 Táobǎo). In 2016, Alibaba’s sales figures at double eleven is over US$17.8 billion. It also has an overseas shopping site called “Aliexpress”, which allows people living in other countries to buy things.
Korea
In October, there is a big shopping spree all over Korea and it is called 코리안세일페스타 “Korea Sale FESTA”. It is an integrated event where visitors can enjoy shopping, Korean Wave (한류: Hallyu) and tourism. It offers tons of discount (할인:halin) benefits and has a lot of offers to visitors from shopping, transportation and accommodation to food, beauty/health, K-pop concerts, tourist attractions and a lot more. This festival is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to bind the retail industry with tourism and cultural sectors. More than 260 companies offer a large discount, special promotions and colorful events for foreign visitors. FESTA stands for “Festival”,” Entertainment”, “Shopping”, “Tour” and “Attraction”. Each week has its own theme and additional discounts.
Japan
Japanese holiday shoppers look forward to a special sale among most retailers each New Year. The sale is referred to as “lucky bags” (福袋 fukubukuro). Lucky bags are made up of a mystery selection of items from a store and sealed so that shoppers do not know what is contained in each paper bag. Instead, all of the products contained in each lucky bag tend to be priced 50% or less off their original retail price. The fact that each bag contains a secret assortment of products adds an element of fun and surprise while the low cost limits the risk of disappointment. While each lucky bag is a surprise, shoppers are not completely in the dark because lucky bags are usually categorized and labeled by the type of merchandise, such as “clothes for a baby girl, 3 month old,” “men’s golf wear, size large,” “bath products from so-and-so brand,” or “assortment of ground coffee.” Some lucky bags, especially from popular brands or well known designer labels, are snapped up quickly and a long line forms hours before the store opens.
Brazil
In Brazil, Black Friday, as it is also known, only really got started in 2010, but unlike in the US, it is mostly an event limited to comércio eletrônico, e-commerce. On the last Friday of November, as lojas virtuais, online retailers, sell more than at Christmas time, with the greatest sales happening in the eletrodomésticos (home appliances), eletrônicos (electronics), móveis (furniture), and vinho (wine) sectors. Because of a recession, many retailers are apostando as fichas (betting high) on the date this year, hoping for aumento de vendas (increased sales), while consumidores (consumers) are rooting for grandes liquidaçōes (big sales).
It hasn’t always been like that though. When a Black Friday (it is a feminine expression in Portuguese) started out, it soon became known as a Black Fraude [frow day], literally the black fraud in reference to retailers that would double their prices a couple of days before the event only to turn around on the date and offer deep discounts, a practice that Brazilians called promoções por metade do dobro (promotions for half the double).
Egypt
Sale or أوكازيون ‘ukaazyuun is the word used by بائعون baa’ixuun (vendors) at the end of each موسم muusim (season) to attract زبائنzabaa’in (customers) to buy the remainder of the season’s بضاعة biDaaxa (merchandise). The word itself goes back to the global economic culture that accompanied the British occupation and continued to grow until it turned to be one of the sources of joy for all the customers. ‘ukaazyuun أوكازيون began as an foreign idea based on getting rid of the goods that were not sold at the end of each season.
The Egyptian Ministry of Supply & Internal Trade, in coordination with the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, currently organizes the biggest sales in Egypt which are the summer sale (at the end of summer) and the winter sale (at the end of winter) for all types of clothing and goods that last for a month.
Germany
There are two major sales in Germany every year. One is the Sommerschlussverkauf (the end of summer sale) and the other is the Winterschlussverkauf (the end of winter sale). Both sales last far longer than one day. The Sommerschlussverkauf typically starts in the middle of July and lasts about two weeks giving Germans plenty of opportunity to get very good Schnäppchen (deals) on summer clothes that they can still use for their August vacation plans. The Winterschlussverkauf typically starts towards the end of the year and lasts until mid-January. Both sales were originally just for fashion and clothing merchandise, but it has expanded to other merchandise as well including furniture and electronics. About 2/3 of all German retailers participate in these major sales.
France
Since 2014, la ruée (the rush) on les bons plans (m. fam.) (the good deals) on Black Friday and Cyber Monday le lundi suivant (the following Monday) is a phenomenon gaining momentum in France. In the past, French businesses would sell à prix fort (at full price) until the fêtes (f.) de fin d’année (end of year holidays), then offer des soldes (f.) (sales) in January. But the crise (f.) économique (economic crisis) made Black Friday an attractive strategy for les marques (f.) (the brands) and les grands distributeurs (m.) (large distributors) to advertise des promos (promotions) (f.) (promotions), with des remises (f.) exceptionnelles (exceptional discounts) to attirer les consommateurs (m.) (to attract consumers).
Spain
Black Friday has been celebrated in Spain since 2012 and it seems to be pretty successful. Sales on electronics and technology are those raising more expectation and larger online retailers seems to have been a big push on the success of el día de las compras (the day of shopping). Fashion is the other big demand and big Spanish brands such as Zara, Oysho or Pull&Bear participate. People try to get that day off work to go shopping because, unlike in the US, the day is not a holiday for us since we don’t celebrate Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving)! In addition to that, most of these brands have come together to create the equivalent of Cyber Monday, and they call it Cyber Lunes or eDay. Last year, El Corte Inglés, our equivalent to Macy’s, started their Black Friday sales on Thursday like many stores now do in the United States.