Black Friday Shopping Breaks Record

A record 226 million shoppers visited brick-and-mortar and online retailers over Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year, according to figures released by the National Retail Federation. Total spending reached an estimated $52.4 billion, and the average shopper spent $398.62, up from $365.34 last year. Shoppers spent more than a third of their dollars online—an average of $150.53, or 37.8 percent. New midnight shopping hours seemed to boost sales for several big chains, as nearly one-quarter of Black Friday shoppers were at the stores by midnight this year, up from 9.5 percent in 2010.