How to Break A Bad Business Cycle

Or — Why are there Black Friday Sales on Thursday?

Early openings on Black Friday are an example of a manmade cycle. Opening on Thanksgiving night and calling it early Black Friday just made the cycle worse. And the retailers did it to themselves.

The problem with the idea to open earlier than the other retailers, is that it’s not an exclusive idea. Other retailers soon met and then beat the opening time. It went from regular opening hours at 9 to opening at 7. Then opening at 6, followed by opening at 5. To opening at 6 PM on Thursday and calling it Friday. And then opening at 4 in the afternoon on Thursday. When does it end?

Why not just start Black Friday on Monday? It is a manmade cycle that has no lasting benefit for either the first mover or any other mover.

In 2021, none of the major retailers were open, in a physical retail setting, on Thanksgiving day. The change came from a shortage of labor and a shortage of product. The earlier bird cycle was broken but not by design.

Years ago, when I was a regional sales manager with a few dozen distributors spread from Maine to Chicago, the president of the company said that sales were down for the month, which was also the end of the quarter, and said that we should get on the phones and see about…