EDMOND —
Black Friday weekend shoppers spent a record $52 billion, and the number of Thanksgiving Day, earlybird shoppers was the highest in history, according to a survey.
On Monday, the news cheered investors, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 299 points by early afternoon. Earlier in the session, also buoyed by news of potential solutions to the European debt crisis, the market had surged 310 points.
According to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIGresearch during the weekend, a record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites, up from 212 million last year. Shoppers also checked out retailers’ deals online, spending an average of $150.53 on the Internet — 37.8 percent of their total weekend spending.
More people than ever before also shopped online and in stores on Black Friday, when 86.3 million shoppers braved the crowds that day alone.
Digging deep into their holiday budgets, the average holiday shopper spent $398.62 this weekend, up from $365.34 last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Total spending reached an estimated $52.4 billion.
Janet Yowell, executive director of the Edmond Economic Development Authority, said she is “very encouraged” by the news.
“I think that’s exciting,” Yowell said.
Yowell said while she was driving around Edmond Saturday morning she saw some full parking lots. She said there’s some pent-up consumer demand, and many Edmond residents have a bit more disposable income to spend than some cities, but they’re still shopping for bargains.
National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said the Black Friday turnout was a promising sign for the economic recovery.
“After an historic holiday weekend, retailers know the holiday season is far from over and will continue to look for ways to excite holiday shoppers and build on the momentum we’ve seen thus far,” Shay said.
Continuing the momentum from 2010, the appetite for shoppers to get a head start on Black Friday continued. Nearly one-quarter (24.4 percent) of Black Friday shoppers were at the stores by midnight, either waiting for stores to open or visiting retailers who opened Thanksgiving evening.
By comparison, the number of people at stores at midnight was 9.5 percent in 2010 and 3.3 percent in 2009.
Business
Black Friday shoppers set record
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