The .blackfriday extension has always been a head scratcher for some domain investors. An extension for one day that many think they know the history behind, actually it’s a myth.
The real history comes from where I live, Philadelphia.
The true story behind Black Friday, however, is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only would Philly cops not be able to take the day off, but they would have to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache.
In a New York Times article last year one analyst noted:
Because really, there’s no such thing as Black Friday anymore, not in a literal sense. It long ago escaped — or transcended — its original meaning and location, leaping beyond United States borders to establish itself in other countries and continents, to become just another shopping day in a sea of shopping days. The term is now a conceptual synonym for the idea of “sale,” a Pavlovian cue to get you in the right frame of mind to open your wallet.
Now it seems as some are proposing for the term “Black Friday” to go away. An article by Laurie Sullivan at Mediapost hinted at retailers stop using the term Black Friday in their marketing and ad buys.
Advertising may well see another change with more people shopping online during the day after Thanksgiving rather than heading into the stores — at least in 2020.
Should the industry say goodbye to “Black Friday” and replace it with “Cyber Week” once and for all? A plethora of data suggests that this year Cyber Monday will extend from the day after Thanksgiving through the following week, with more consumers planning to shop online rather than in crowded stores.
With the COVID-19 pandemic driving many to shop at home, expect the use of paid search, display and video campaigns to skyrocket this holiday season as brands turn to messages such as buy online and pick up at curbside, free shipping and quick deliveries, as well as how-to videos that explore what to wear.
The .blackfriday extension has 1,128 registrations, down substantially from when it was first released, (like many). Source
If the term goes away the extension might go away as well.
Ray, this “cancel culture”?
i never cared much for extension, but shame if lose name
Samer
I don’t think this is cancel culture, I mean people will still use the name I believe. But if retailers are not using the term in their marketing and ad campaigns, will another term become more popular, to be an umbrella for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
The extension might just become a dated term down the road.
Personally I think “Good Friday” is far more appropriate, but then again I’m a Redskin fan☺ As an aside, back in the 70’s I went to an Army/Navy game one Saturday followed by an Eagle vs. Redskin game on Sunday. Navy and the Redskins both one…..Hail to the Redskins☺
Reminder:
Good domain names (or good *domains extensions*) should be future-proof.
BF may be fading out in America but the term Black Friday has made headway into other territories. In Europe, many countries now have a Black Friday but the trend started only a decade ago. Halloween is another American import too, we didn’t have that when I was a teen.
But the TLD is pointless anyway, because it’s useful only one day per year. What’s the use for it the rest of the time ?
I am surprised the term is still acceptable in 2020.
Don’t know if he still does, but Kevin Ham owned BlackFriday.com. Told me he did quite well with it.
It looks like he sold it to Ziff Davis about 2012 based on the first use date in:
https://verimark.com/trademark/blackfriday-com/88238649
I always thought the term originated from the fact that it was the first day of the year when retailers’ accounts went out of the red and into the black.