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A Carnival of Capitalism—that’s the definition of the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday. Black Friday has become as much a part of the holiday season as turkey and visits to Santa. Retailers all over the country open their doors before dawn to lure customers out of bed with the promise of huge discounts on their merchandise. The strategy has created something of a frenzy amongst consumers with some being willing to camp out for days in front of their retailer-of-choice in order to be the first one through the doors and others coming with strategies such as pepper spray to make sure no one deters them from their mission!

The official beginning of the holiday-buying season, Black Friday has become one of the most profitable days of the year for retailers. In fact, the name itself is a reference to profit, i.e., “moving into the black” Even though retailers are mostly profitable all year around, the major chain stores consider Black Friday a very important shopping day of the year.

Black Friday was created to respond to the nagging retailer question: “How do I get the customers into my store”. The event initially answered the question by creating a sense of urgency about getting the best deals of the holiday season by showing up at 6am to get that deal before the merchandise ran out. However, the competition for market share quickly prevailed and stores began opening earlier and earlier to try to be the first store open for Black Friday. Consequently, Black Friday is now really Black Thursday, Right After You Finish Your Dinner with some retailers opening as early as 9pm Thursday evening.

But not everyone is pleased with these “creeping” start times. Serious Black Friday shoppers who treat Black Friday like a sporting event, have taken to their blogs, Facebook and Twitter to protest these early openings. For many, it is like saying that Half Time can start before the end of the second quarter! The purpose of the game is to be at the front of the line before the doors open and if the doors open earlier and earlier, there is no way to effectively play the game!

Of course, there is also the possibility to move this frenzy into the online shopping realm. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a retailer promote an online Black Friday that requires you to be logged on and waiting to strike your Enter Key at the stroke of Midnight to give yourself access to the best deals in the Universe. Just wait, now that I have said that, someone will be making it a part of their next year’s Black Friday sales strategy!

So, are you reading this the morning after Thanksgiving, or are you in line fighting for the last pair of those adorable reindeer socks? Let me know!