Thursday, November 27, 2014

Wait For It! Black Friday By The Numbers

People carry shopping bags along Broadway on December 2, 2013 in New York City. Getty Images

When they sit down to carve their turkeys on Thursday, families across the U.S. have at least one reason to be thankful: Black Friday. The annual feast of discounts and credit card-swiping — which, increasingly, begins on Thanksgiving itself, if not sooner — pumps billions of dollars into the U.S. economy and prompts Americans to get a head start on holiday shopping. Here are the key figures behind the binge:

1966: The year Philadelphia police are thought to have coined the term “Black Friday,” referring to the tide of theft and traffic infractions they had to cope with on the first big day of Christmas shopping.

6 p.m.: The time that U.S. Target, Walmart, and Sears stores will open for Black Friday this year, but on Thanksgiving Thursday.

5 p.m.: The time that Best Buy stores will open on Thursday.

$57.4 billion (U.S.): The amount shoppers spent last “Black Weekend,” according to the National Retail Federation.

14: The number of days James Tranter plans to camp outside a Best Buy in Apple Valley, Calif, before the sales begin.

1,600: The number of U.S. Walmart stores where employees are expected to protest on Black Friday this year.

£6,000: The amount that Visa Europe expects will be spent using its card every second during Black Friday this year.

7: The number of Black Friday-related deaths since 2006, as compiled by website BlackFridayDeathCount.com.

$3,400,000,000 (U.S.): The amount retailers lost through fraudulent returns after Black Friday last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

40: The percentage of Black Friday shoppers who suffer from sore feet, according to a 2009 survey by lip ointment maker Blistex.

1 million-plus: The number of XboxOnes sold last Black Friday, when the video game console launched in 13 countries.

965,000: The number of sick days Canadian workers are expected to claim on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to an IPG Mediabrands study

24: The percentage of Canadians expected to go shopping in the U.S. on Black Friday, according to IPG.

2.3: The percentage increase in the value of bricks-and-mortar Black Friday and Thanksgiving sales last year over 2012, according to Wishpond.

18.5: The percentage increase for online sales from 2012 to 2013, according to comScore.

187: The percentage increase in sales from 2012 to 2013 on smartphone-optimized websites, according to mobile shopping platform Branding Brand.

12:05 p.m.: The time that online sales peaked last Black Friday, according to IBM.

$135.27 (U.S.): The value of the average online order last Black Friday.

21: The percentage of women who shop for themselves on Black Friday, according to a DealNews survey.

46: The percentage of men who shop for themselves on Black Friday, according to the same survey.

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