Black Friday (shopping) stories resurface year upon year at this time, portraying hysteria and shortage of stock, creating a state of positive feedback. In 2014, spending volume on Black Friday fell for the first time since the 2008 recession. $50.9 billion was spent during the 4-day Black Friday weekend, down 11% from the previous year. However, the U.S. economy was not in a recession. Christmas creep has been cited as a factor in the diminishing importance of Black Friday, as many retailers now spread out their promotions over the entire months of November and December rather than concentrate them on a single shopping
Black Friday (shopping) with one 2013 comment piece in the trade publication "Retail Week" labelling it "simply an Americanism, which doesn't translate very well." In 2014, more UK-based retailers adopted the Black Friday marketing scheme than ever. Among them were ao.com, very.co.uk, John Lewis and Argos, who all offered discounted prices to entice Christmas shoppers. During Black Friday sales in 2014, police forces were called to shops across Britain to deal with crowd control issues, assaults, threatening customers and traffic issues. Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, stated: "The events of last night were totally predictable and I am disappointed