Apparently, full stomachs after Thanksgiving dinners get people in the mood for some real shopping.
Customers flocked in to early store openings on Thanksgiving day to scoop up “doorbuster” deals. A record 247 million shoppers visited stores and websites in the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend this year, up 9% from 226 million last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation released Sunday.
Individual shoppers also shelled out more money — spending $423 this weekend, up from $398 last year. Total spending over the four-day weekend reached a record $59.1 billion, a 13% increase from $52.4 billion last year, according to the NRF.
The survey found that retailers’ push to open stores earlier appealed to customers. Stores like Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Toys R Us, Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500), that ushered in customers just as Thanksgiving meals wrapped up, saw a boost. About 10% of this weekend’s shoppers were out at stores by 8 p.m. on Thursday and an estimated 28% of weekend shoppers were at the stores by midnight, compared to 24.4% last year.
“The only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call them a huge win,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Thanksgiving shopping has really becoming an extension of the day’s activities. Whole families are going.”
Related: Black Friday shoppers out in full force
In a separate survey, ShopperTrak found that the number of people shopping in stores climbed 3.5% from last year to more than 307.67 million.
Bill Martin, ShopperTrak’s founder, said that traffic hasn’t been this high since 2006. He said that the return to pre-recession levels indicates a real recovery in consumer behavior.
“We’ve seen that consumers are willing to shop a few extra stores,” Martin said. “This could translate into more impulse buying and stronger sales.”
Source: CNN
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