Seven facts to know about Black Friday

Everyone is buzzing about it, and everyone is anticipating it, some with excitement and some with fear. What is Black Friday and why should you pay attention to it in 2017? Here are some of the facts you must know before visiting any of the stores this year.

1. Black Friday may have been initially American, but it has spread over the world in a matter of just a few years. Thanks to the internet and quickly developing online trends, more and more shops have adopted it and enabled people in their local areas to shop for their product. Believe it or not, but it is often used for small domestic manufacturers to reach a much broader target market and enable the local economy to grow.

2. The Friday holiday is quite old. There are at least a few theories as regards to the origins of the holiday. One of them says it originated in the 1950’s in the States when the sales skyrocketed, and owners could mark their numbers for the day in the black. Just to clarify, whenever their sales did not go so well, and the expenses exceeded the profits, they would mark the numbers with the red color. There are some negative connotations to the term as well but the sellers decided to disregard them and follow the positive note.

3. Black Friday is not just about Friday. In fact, the entire holiday encompasses Friday, Saturday, Sunday and it ends on Monday, known as Cyber Monday. Back in the day when online shopping wasn’t all that popular, Friday was reserved for shopping in person in the store while Monday brought you all the online deals. Fortunately, today you don’t need to get out of the house on any of those days, and you can shop on the internet whenever you want.

4. Does the term sound familiar to you, only with a different name? Well, some of the shops and consumers in the Middle East use the name “White Friday” instead of “Black Friday” due to religious and cultural reasons. They are not afraid to distance themselves from the original name of the holiday, but don't worry; it’s pretty much the same thing.

5. Black (or White) Friday is real. The stories about skyrocketing sales are real. The crowds of people spending money on one particular day are real. In fact, it was noted last year that Daraz, one of the more popular online stores in Pakistan, observed the first ‘1-billion rupees in one-day’ sale. How, you ask? People started noticing the fact that the internet is one of the best ways to save money while spending it, especially if you can plan what you will need in the next few months.

6. The holiday never falls on the same date. It is always the last Friday of November, immediately following American Thanksgiving. This year, it means the shopping frenzy starts on 24th of November. It is also the unofficial beginning of the entire month of holiday shopping. Many people even claim that it's a fantastic way to buy presents for the people they care about for all sorts of occasions – weddings, birthdays, etc.

7. Just because the prices on that particular weekend are already very affordable, some shoppers have their ways to score even better discounts. One of them includes browsing the biggest discount code website, Picodi.com/pk which offers the most extensive number of coupons, codes and other Black Friday Deals to Pakistani and international stores. This way, they are far better off than the rest of the public deciding to visit the shops on that day.

With careful planning and a smart strategy, you can save tons of money on things like fashion, electronics (a new smartphone, anybody?), and even household items such as furniture, sheets and more. With the internet being at your disposal and more shops being present online, there is minimal effort involved, and it can effectively mean more time spent with the family and friends.