The Economist explains: How Black Friday hit Britain

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BLACK Friday is an American invention, referring to the day after Thanksgiving in which American retailers place heavy discounts on thousands of products. It has become the biggest day of the year for consumers and retailers alike, kick-starting the Christmas shopping season. Hence, according to one story, its name, because it pushes retailers’ accounts from the red (debit) into the black (credit). This year, British retailers also will be slashing thousands of prices in shops and online, especially in electrical goods. John Lewis, a big department store, is keeping its doors open for the longest time in its 150-year history: from 8am to 10pm. How did Black Friday come to Britain?Given that Thanksgiving is an American holiday, Brits had ignored Black Friday, and had no formal start to the shopping season. Amazon, an American e-commerce giant, claims that it introduced Black Friday to Britain in 2010, but it was only last year that it really took off. In 2013, for the first time, both Amazon and Asda, a supermarket chain owned by Walmart, another American firm, went big on it, and were joined by other British companies. This year more British retailers are hoping to harness the same momentum. Visa Europe, a credit-card company, is predicting that shoppers will spend £6,000 (,500) a second on the day. As with most stores, John Lewis is hiring more staff to cope with the …

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