How Street Chaos Was Turned Into the Main Sales Tool

"Black Friday" has kicked off this week. Discounts, promotions, sales — you know all this already. But almost no one knows that this day was named not by marketers, but by cops.

Ordinary road disorder turned into a tool that helps businesses clear warehouses, attract a flow of customers, and meet targets.

The term "Black Friday" first appeared back in the 19th century when the gold market collapsed.

Later, in the 50s, factories started using it. For directors, it was a headache: after Thanksgiving, workers massively took time off and did not show up for shifts.

In the 60s, the Philadelphia police gave this term a new meaning. Traffic jams, crowds of tourists, pickpockets, overcrowded stores — for the cops, it was the hardest day of the year.

Merchants tried to move away from the negative name and attempted to rename it "Big Friday," but it didn't stick.

Only later did marketers realize — it was pointless to fight the name of this day. Especially since people go out on the street on this day and are ready to spend money.

In the 80s, giants like Macy’s, Walmart, Sears decided to make "Black Friday" the official start of Christmas sales.

From then on, everything went smoothly. Give people a sense of rare value, and they will create the hype themselves — queues at the checkouts, races at the entrance.

The idea caught on, and now people plan a special shopping list around Black Friday.

What was once a nightmare for the police has turned into a sales tradition in 75 countries. And in the UAE, they even came up with their own version — White Friday.

This is how some people just look at the mess and complain, while others find an opportunity to profit from it.

This is the essence of entrepreneurship: seeing an opportunity and a lever for growth in a problem.