Record Number of Holiday Shoppers
By: WROC-TV
Updated: November 25, 2012
A record number of people did some seasonal shopping this Black Friday weekend across the United States.
The National Retail Federation says that 247 million shoppers have visited stores and websites since Friday, that's up from 226 million last year.
The average holiday shopper spent 423 dollars this weekend, last year that total was 398 dollars.
The jump in sales was also felt here at home. The General Manager at Eastview Mall says anywhere from 20 to 25 thousand shoppers were at the mall at any given time on Black Friday. That number is hard to predict because some stores open early.
Overall, stores saw a 4 to 8 percent increase in sales compared to this time last year. Both analysts and local shoppers say the numbers are encouraging.
The surge in sales will also continue tomorrow on Cyber Monday. This year's event is expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year for the third year in a row.
Researchers predict Americans will spend $1.5 billion dollars in total online. That's up from $1.2 billion last year.
The National Retail Federation says that 247 million shoppers have visited stores and websites since Friday, that's up from 226 million last year.
The average holiday shopper spent 423 dollars this weekend, last year that total was 398 dollars.
The jump in sales was also felt here at home. The General Manager at Eastview Mall says anywhere from 20 to 25 thousand shoppers were at the mall at any given time on Black Friday. That number is hard to predict because some stores open early.
Overall, stores saw a 4 to 8 percent increase in sales compared to this time last year. Both analysts and local shoppers say the numbers are encouraging.
The surge in sales will also continue tomorrow on Cyber Monday. This year's event is expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year for the third year in a row.
Researchers predict Americans will spend $1.5 billion dollars in total online. That's up from $1.2 billion last year.
