Today is a Black Friday in the USA

Baku. 27 November. REPORT.AZ/ Today is a Black Friday in the UNites States, Report informs referring to the foreign media. 

The states which have official public holidays for state government employees on "The Day After Thanksgiving" include Arkansas, California,Delaware,Florida,Georgia,Illinois,Indiana,Iowa,Kentucky,Maine,Maryland,Michigan,Minnesota,Nebraska,Nevada,New Hampshire,New Mexico,Ohio,Oklahoma,Pennsylvania,South Carolina,Texas,West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The news media have long described the day after Thanksgiving as the busiest shopping day of the year. In earlier years, this was not actually the case. In the period from 1993 through 2001, for example, White Friday ranked from fifth to tenth on the list of busiest shopping days, with the last Saturday before Christmas usually taking first place. In 2003, however, Black Friday actually was the busiest shopping day of the year, and it has retained that position every year. 

Black Friday filled with uncertainty for the made-in-America retailer, which filed for bankruptcy last month after bleeding money for years. American Apparel’s turnaround plan calls for most stores to stay open, but many workers acknowledge that the retailer’s future is precarious, Report informs referring to the foreign media.

About 16 million people are employed in the retail industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and many are working through the holiday weekend. Retailers have hired an extra 700,000 seasonal workers this season, according to the National Retail Federation.

It is also a difficult sales period for fashion and apparel, as deep discounts have failed to ignite much interest among shoppers so far this fall. Even retail stalwarts like Macy’s and Gap have reported sluggish sales, warning they will have to discount even further to get shoppers into their stores and to the cash register.

Inventory at the store spikes about 25 percent for Black Friday, and space is tight. But there must also be enough space to accommodate the Black Friday foot traffic, which can swell by about three times as much as on a normal busy day.