BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday has now become one of the most anticipated shopping events of the year. An international phenomenon followed by millions of consumers… yet its origins are often as hazy as an 80VG cloud in a small room.

At Sweetch, we like transparency (just like a good pyrex tank), so let’s take a little trip back in time to discover how a simple local expression turned into a worldwide commercial tradition — including in the world of vaping.

A TERM BORN OUT OF CHAOS...

Contrary to what many people think, Black Friday didn’t come from a clever marketing plan worthy of a “coil master” designed to boost Christmas sales.

No, its origins go back to the 1950s–60s in the city of Philadelphia. Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, the city hosted an extremely popular college football game: Army vs. Navy.

The result: massive crowds, impossible traffic, jam-packed streets, and a rise in petty shoplifting.

The overwhelmed police officers started calling this day “Black Friday.” Not because of discounts, but simply because their day went dark as fast as a burnt coil.

Anecdote:

Merchants, embarrassed by this negative reputation, tried in the 1960s to rename the day “Big Friday.” A complete failure — like a poorly inserted battery: it just never started.

thanksgiving football

FROM URBAN CHAOS TO ACCOUNTS "IN THE DARK"

It was really in the 1980s that everything changed. American retailers finally accepted the name "Black Friday"... and, more importantly, they turned it completely to their advantage.

At the time, many of them made a huge chunk of their turnover between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So they came up with a more positive angle: it's the time when their accounts go from being in the red to being in the black.

In traditional accounting, writing in red meant being in the red, while black meant profit. Several retailers therefore adopted the expression "Black Friday" to refer to the day when their accounts returned to the black thanks to a massive influx of purchases.

This is where Black Friday began to become a commercial event, a day of special offers to kick off the Christmas shopping season. But beware: these were far from spectacular discounts. It was more like the MTL version of Black Friday: discreet, gentle, moderate.

1990–2000: IT'S GOING OFF

Two factors will completely transform Black Friday:

1. Major American retailers are starting to play along

Opening very early in the morning, a few products that are "impossible to ignore", XXL advertisements...

The concept is starting to attract attention, the media are getting involved, and the day is becoming a little more 'crazy' every year.

This is where the legendary scenes of night-time queues, doors opening at 5 a.m., and sometimes... riots occur.

Black Friday promotion

2. The internet changes everything

From the 2000s onwards, online shopping exploded. And that's when Black Friday went into sub-ohm mode. Promotions could start earlier, last longer, and reach a much wider audience, including outside the United States.

Switzerland got on board in the 2010s. Today, the phenomenon is well established, and everyone knows someone who waits for this period to make a major purchase, or simply to treat themselves at a bargain price.

online discounts sales

AND IN VAPING?

As in many other sectors, Black Friday has established itself as a key moment:

• to discover new e-liquids,

• to renew or upgrade their equipment,

• to test brands, flavours or pod formats that we were hesitant to try.

An ideal annual event to review your setup... or to treat yourself without breaking the bank.


Thank you for reading.

The Sweetch team

Related products