Well yesterday was a total frenzy in Canadian stores, but how did it start?

eMail from DeSerres, November 28, 2014

eMail from WestJet, November 27, 2014

eMail from Kelowna Cycle, November 27, 2014

Black Friday, the Friday after US Thanksgiving, is an orgy of consumerism. Depending what source you rely on, Black Friday has been around in the United States since the 1960s or 1970s.

In Canada, however, it is a relatively new phenomenon. The first Black Friday event by Canadian retailers occurred in 2008 or 2009. The high value of the Canadian dollar was prompting consumers in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver to make the trek across the border to snap up great deals at US retailers. In an effort to keep the dollars at home, some Canadian retailers began their own Black Friday sales.

Now, Black Friday has emerged a key day for North American retailers and in Canada almost all of the retail chains have jumped on board. I did pick up a two pairs of pants and some socks on Thursday (The sales started early at some retailers) but stayed at home and avoided the madness on Friday.

While Canadian and now UK retailers have adopted Black Friday, it will be interesting to see if US retailers will eventually adopt the Boxing Day tradition and start their after-Christmas sales earlier.

Of course the unanswered, and possibly unanswerable question is do the Black Friday sales actually increase retailer profitability? Or are retailers just doing it because all of the other retailers are doing it?