http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCcp4l7BNzZM&refer=home
U.S. Shoppers Spend 19% More on Thanksgiving Weekend(Update2)
By Mary Jane Credeur
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. shoppers spent 18.9 percent more over the Thanksgiving weekend than last year, kicking off holiday gift buying with purchases of discounted wide-screen televisions and clothes, the National Retail Federation said.
Consumers spent an average $360.15 each over the weekend, up from $302.81 a year earlier, the NRF said today in a statement. Fewer people shopped, with about 140 million visiting stores during the four days including Thanksgiving, down from 145 million last year.
Shoppers limited much of their spending to sale items such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s $997 37-inch LCD TV and Sears Holding Corp.'s discounted jewelry and toys, said consultant Howard Davidowitz. Retailers count on the last quarter of the year to generate one-third of their annual profits.
``It was shocking because people were only buying doorbusters,'' said Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates. Employees with his New York-based consulting and investment-banking firm visited 50 retailers over the weekend. ``You can't have people just come in and buy doorbusters and leave.''
Sales on Nov. 24, called Black Friday because retailers once considered it the day they turned profitable for the year, rose 6 percent from last year to $8.96 billion, according to estimates by Chicago-based research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp.
`Gift to Me'
The NRF said sales during November and December may rise 5 percent to $457.4 billion. U.S. consumer confidence is close to a 15-month high as gasoline prices decline and unemployment remains at its lowest in five years.
About 33 percent of shoppers bought electronics over the weekend, including flat-panel television sets, Microsoft Corp.'s Zune digital music player and video-game consoles such as Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, the NRF said.