How Black Friday and Holiday Shopping Affects Economy

 How Black Friday and Holiday Shopping Affects Economy

Cadence Sjoberg

With the holidays quickly approaching, many retailers around the nation will reach their peak selling season. This peak begins with one of the most important retail events in the US, Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving has been proclaimed the busiest shopping day during the holiday season and throughout the year as a whole. According to Micheal J. Boyle, about 186.4 people shopped sometime throughout the Black Friday weekend. Spending by consumers has been known to drive economic growth and activity, making Black Friday a crucial time for businesses and the economy in general. Not only do retailers benefit from the holidays, but the food industry has also seen a spike from a combination of food purchases for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The increased shopping seen during the holidays provides multiple benefits to the economy. 

The first benefit is stock growth. Companies and businesses who see high numbers during the Black Friday weekend, typically see a growth in stocks. With the stock market closed on Thanksgiving, not everyone sees a growth of stocks, but throughout the month of December, most companies tend to see a spike. Even in December of 2020, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, America saw it’s largest growth in retails sales of over 8.2%.

Another benefit that holiday shopping can provide is increased employment. With the abundance of shoppers, many job opportunities open up at retail stores and manufacturers. Many businesses tend to have available job openings during the months of November and December which can help decrease the unemployment rate of the economy. It has been found that nearly 1 million jobs open up each year with the anticipation of increased shopping. 

Although a weak economy can also have a negative effect on consumer spending, even during the holiday season, the economy always seems to show a rise (minus during the 2008 season) at the end of the year. Not only does spending increase for retail, but people tend to spend more money on gas and travel as well. 

Works Cited

Larry, Larry. “Why Holiday Shopping Is so Important for the U.S. Economy.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 28 Nov. 2016, www.cbsnews.com/news/why-holiday-shopping-is-so-important-for-the-economy/.

Team, The Investopedia. “How Thanksgiving and Black Friday Affect Stocks.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 29 Oct. 2021, www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/102714/how-stock-market-affected-thanksgiving-and-black-friday.asp.