Black Friday sales have long been a staple in the United States, but the idea of slashing prices on the final Friday of November is a relatively new concept in the UK.
An idea first conceived in the 1960s, Black Friday was attributed to the chaotic shopping scenes the day after Thanksgiving. Seen by Americans as a chance to bag great deals in time for Christmas, it later became an opportunity for UK stores to also slash their prices in time for the festive period.
Amazon began establishing Black Friday deals from 2010, but the Black Friday craze didn't fully begin in the UK until around 2014 when Argos, Asda, John Lewis, Tesco, Very and more all introduced vast sales in late November. The American tradition of Black Friday has since been embraced by UK retailers over recent years.
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But before the online sales and vast amount of businesses involved that we know today, the sales looked a lot different, with midnight queues and crowds bustling around the shopping aisles for the latest deals. On November 28, 2014, the sudden increase in deals prompted widespread chaos throughout Britain and in true American style, Black Friday shoppers queued up until midnight so that they could grab the hottest deals straight away.
Like other areas, Greater Manchester saw the sales take a turn and police were called to a handful of supermarkets following a number of reported incidents. At the time, the M.E.N. reported how fights broke out as desperate punters stormed the supermarket chain outlets at midnight to get hold of bargains.
Officers were deployed to Tesco in Irlam, Stretford, Wigan, Failsworth, Middleton, Hattersley, Burnage and Walkden over concerns for people’s safety. Shoppers at the time described scenes of "chaos," leaving one person saying "it was something they would never like to experience again."
They claimed: "People were crowding around the palettes where the sale items were. It was getting more heated by the minute and the next thing, at about ten to midnight, voices got raised. The shouting went through the roof, then all hell broke loose.
"They were ripping the plastic off the palettes and people started fighting. One girl, who can't have been more than 16, picked up some advent calendars and flung them across the shop."
At the time, a GMP spokesman said: "The Tesco Extra in Stretford was closed after fights broke out between shoppers trying to get their hands on sale stock. A woman suffered minor injuries after being hit by a falling television and an ambulance was called. The store was closed at 12.36am, just over half an hour after the sales event started."
Crowds of 500 people gathered at Tescos in Walkden and Failsworth, prompting staff to call police to the scene. A GMP spokesman added: "Shortly after 1.05am on Friday 28th November, police were called to Tesco on Woodrow Way, Salford (Irlam). One man was arrested on suspicion of assault after his conduct in store was challenged by staff. He threatened to “smash” a staff member’s face in.
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"At 12.40am on Thursday, officers were called to Tesco Extra on Barton Road, Middleton, following reports that around 200 people would not leave, despite being told stock had all gone. Doors had been locked but they refused to leave. No arrests were made.
"Shortly after 12.05am on Friday, police called to Tesco Extra on Stockport Road, Hattersley, following reports of fighting in store. Approximately 300 people were present in store and staff were advised to close. One man was arrested for a public order offence."
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A Tesco spokesman said: "In the interest of customer safety some of our stores in Greater Manchester contacted police last night to help control crowds safely. We are extremely grateful to Greater Manchester Police for their support and the stores are now trading normally.
"We always take guidance from police authorities on security measures in stores and we will work closely with Greater Manchester Police to make improvements for this kind of event." The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Peter Fahy, later blasted the ‘appalling’ behaviour of customers and hit out at store bosses for not having enough security to deal with the ‘totally predictable’ trouble.
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Following the incidents, two men were convicted. One admitted using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of violence and another pleaded guilty to one count of assault and one count of using threatening and abusive words or behaviour.
Following the chaos of Black Friday 2014, some retailers began to discontinue or heavily modify their promotions. Black Friday sales in the UK have changed a lot since then - with more online retailers taking part and offering deals in the days leading up to the last Friday of November.
It has arguably been fully adopted from our American cousins, with most consumers treating it like any other annual tradition.
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