By Maggie Susa, The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Huntington Mall saw 103,000 visitors on Black Friday in 2022, and even more shoppers are expected this year. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is when retailers kick off the holiday season with offers meant to get customers in the shopping mood.
“Black Friday has always been very important, not just for the Huntington Mall, but for all retailers,” said Joe Bell, director of communications for the Cafaro Company, which is the parent company of Huntington Mall. “It typically was considered the day when retailers broke even and actually started to make a profit for the year. But the meaning of Black Friday has certainly changed in recent years.”
The term “Black Friday” is most often traced to Philadelphia where police had to deal with large crowds who thronged the streets of the city before the annual Army-Navy game and to take advantage of sales. According to the Dec. 18, 1961, issue of Public Relations News, a newsletter, it became customary for police to refer to post-Thanksgiving shopping as Black Friday and Black Saturday because of the headaches they created.
Retailers began taking ownership of the term in the late 1980s as the opening bell for the holidays.
