Good deals or not, Black Friday resulted in a lot of green for retailers around the country. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey, about 172 million of your friends and family (as well as plenty of strangers) were shopping up a storm over the weekend. Not everyone was gung-ho about leaving the house, though; those numbers include online shoppers.

Last year’s numbers were closer to the 147 million mark. Of course, that includes the entire weekend, with Friday hitting the highest number of shoppers—with 23.3 percent of those ready to shop around 5:00 a.m. However, it wasn’t just the turnout that went up. The amount of money being thrown around also went up. The average shopper spent about $372.57, which is up 7.2 percent. Total spending came in around $41 billion.

“Pent-up demand on electronics and clothing, plus unparalleled bargains on this season’s hottest items helped drive shopping all weekend,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Holiday sales are not expected to continue at this brisk pace, but it is encouraging that Americans seem excited to go shopping again.”

Overall, the NRF says that holiday sales should see a 2.2 percent increase this year.

About the Author:
Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer

Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.