NRF: Black Friday Sales Up From Last Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN)—A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey.

The retail trade association said that traffic and spending were up both online and in stores and reached historic highs. The average holiday shopper spent $398.62 this past weekend, up from $365.34 last year, the group said. Total spending reached an estimated $52.4 billion. Shoppers spent an average of $150.53 on the web or 37.8 percent of their total weekend spending, the NRF said.

The survey found 28.7 million people shopped online and at stores on Thanksgiving Day, up from 22.2 million last year. The number who shopped online and in stores also was up on Black Friday as 86.3 million shoppers braved crowds that day, the NRF estimated.

The most popular shopping destinations were department stores (48.7 percent) and discounters (37.5 percent). Additionally, consumers also shopped at clothing stores (24.6 percent), drug stores (14 percent) and grocery stores (23.8 percent), electronics stores (30.8 percent) and craft or fabric stores (7.9 percent.)

The survey, conducted Nov. 24-26 by BIGresearch for NRF, polled 3,826 consumers.

The NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad.