Black Friday sales set record

Concerns that the 2011 holiday season would be a weak one were dispelled this weekend as American consumers rushed to stores and purchased more goods than ever before. Black Friday sales increased 6.6 percent, according to initial figures.

Black Friday sales totaled $11.40 billion in retail purchases, the biggest dollar amount ever spent during the day, according to ShopperTrak, a provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services.

Retail foot traffic rose accordingly, increasing by 5.1 percent over Black Friday 2010.

“Despite our sluggish economy, shoppers proved they are looking for value and ready to buy if given a good customer experience,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin.

This is also the largest year-over-year gain in since the 8.3 percent increase witnessed between 2007 and 2006.

Some 52 million U.S. shoppers are expected to visit stores and websites during Black Friday weekend, according to a National Retail Federation survey. The survey found that the number of people that said they would “definitely” go shopping jumped to 33 percent, compared to 27 percent in 2010.

Black Friday’s strong showing came on the heels of a very good November for retailers. Sales were up 3.6 percent during the week of Nov. 12 and up 3.8 percent during the week of Nov. 19, the week before Black Friday.

Heavy promotions, deep discounts, free shipping and midnight sales--when retailers open stores for late-night shopping--all helped encourage consumers to make holiday purchases.

Holiday shoppers look for sales and research purchases online before heading to a store. Given a strong Black Friday, however, and the possibility of a dropoff in the coming weeks, retailers will need to work extra hard to convert knowledgeable browsers into buyers, ShopperTrak's Martin said.

U.S. holiday jewelry sales are expected to rise 7 percent to 10 percent, based year-over-year, according to the latest IDEX Online Research forecast.

-IDEX Online