Black Friday is right around the corner and retailers and shoppers are gearing up for one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
On the Friday after Thanksgiving the unofficial holiday Black Friday takes place, which is between Nov. 23-29 for most retailers, according to BlackFriday.com.

“The term ‘Black Friday’ was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season,” says BlackFriday.com. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand and red ink indicated a loss and black a profit, according to the website.

Low prices

Black Friday gained popularity as retailers offered more and more discounted products, drawing in customers for early shopping as opposed to last minute sales, according to BlackFriday.com. Many prices are low enough the retailer may not even turn a profit, including such gimmicks as door busters, coupons and extensive advertising.

With the hardships in the recent economy, the lines for Black Friday sales can only be expected to increase this year. In 2008, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent over $41 billion on holiday shopping.

“Americans spent over $41 billion on holiday shopping.”

Irma Jarovic, a 19-year old Yavapai College student, considers herself a, “professional shopper,” and wouldn’t miss Black Friday shopping for anything.

“I go shopping at the mall…for percentages off of things such as shoes and makeup always has deals,” she says. The crowds don’t scare Jarovic. “I just shove them,” she jokes. However, it is clear that what may be a laughing matter to her may be a national issue.

Violence mars door busters

Crowds, riots and violence often find their way into these holiday events as can inevitably happen when many people and greed are combined.

In Long Island, NY a temporary Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death while unlocking the doors at 5 a.m. on Black Friday 2008, according to Associated Content News.

Nassau County police Detective Lt. Michael Fleming identified the man as a 34-year-old who lived in Queens. “This was utter chaos as these men tried to open the door this morning,” Fleming said.

This type of violence is not uncommon, with many cases of injury and death across the nation each year; some people choose to stay far away from the Black Friday rush.

This is seen on website forums giving detailed information on violence on Black Friday, such as The Digerati Life a blog about money and personal finance. Funny About Money commented, “I can’t imagine shopping under these conditions. You couldn’t get me into a brick-&-mortar at this time of year.”

However, if you side with Jarovic, there are other options.

First, there are multiple preparation plans, one of the most thorough including a ten step process offered by giftguide.com. It begins with “Select a storage device: purse, backpack, clutch, or fanny pack?” and ends with “hand signals” to help alert the shopping “squad” of things such as “clear aisles,” “card declined, switching to husband’s credit card” and “low prices here.”

Cyber Monday

A second growing option is to skip out entirely on Black Friday and wait it out for Cyber Monday. According to CyberMonday.com, “Cyber Monday is just like Black Friday, except all of the deals and price cuts are available online. It always falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is seen by many retailers and shoppers as the official kick-off to the online holiday shopping season.”

An increase from 43 percent of websites offering Cyber Monday sales to 72 percent, according to Scott Mayerowitz of ABC News Business Unit, will help keep those not willing to face the crowds or prospective violence.

“It’s a starting point. It’s a kickoff point where many retailers have special deals and bargains,” said Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation. Whether it’s online or in store, Black Friday is just another way of knowing the holidays are on their way.