Solid Start

An estimated 133 million shoppers spent a total of $22.8 billion over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey sanctioned by the National Retail Federation (Washington, D.C.).

That spending total represents about 10 percent of the $220 billion in expected total holiday sales this year. Though Black Friday weekend was a success for many retailers, the NRF said, stores recognize that the bulk of holiday shopping is yet to come.

“Retailers know that the holiday season is not a sprint, it's a marathon,” said Tracy Mullin, the NRF's president and ceo. “Black Friday weekend is just the beginning of a month-long race to the finish line.”

Black Friday is a term coined for the day after Thanksgiving, in which, traditionally, retailers went from being “in the red” to being “in the black” — profitable. The NRF continues to project an increase of 4.5 percent in holiday sales this year over last year, bringing estimated revenues of $219.9 billion this holiday season.

According to the NRF survey, the majority of shoppers headed to discounters (61.8 percent), though department stores (44.3 percent) and specialty stores (40.5 percent) also saw strong traffic. Online retailers also had a solid weekend, with nearly one in three consumers (29.3 percent) choosing to do some of their holiday shopping over the Internet.

The NRF's 2004 Black Friday Weekend Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holidays. The survey, which polled 4665 consumers, was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch from November 26-27.