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Shoppers spent only slightly more in stores this
Black Friday than they did last year, according to data released
Saturday by a national research firm.

      Preliminary sales data from ShopperTrak RCT Corp. show shoppers
spent $10.66 billion when they hit the malls on the day after
Thanksgiving - only 0.5 percent more than last year.

      At the same time, other research showed fresh signs of much
stronger online sales during the traditional start of the holiday
shopping season, which may mean more consumers shopped from home.


      Still, more than a year after the economy's collapse began
rattling shoppers, industry observers said Friday's shopping sprees
offered a strong start to the holiday season as large crowds of
shoppers snatched up early morning deals.

      "I know what they want, but I've been looking for a deal to
make sure I get a good price," Jude Leeper, 49, of Hanover, Pa.,
said as she shopped for gifts for family members Friday at a
Maryland mall. "I'm going to buy that gift that I know is going to
get used, not stuffed in a closet."

      The traditional shopping spree - dubbed Black Friday because it
often was the day when a surge of shoppers helped stores break into
profitability for the full year - has marked the kickoff of holiday
shopping for many consumers. But its importance has faded in recent
years as merchants started hawking the deep sales and expanded
hours usually reserved for that day well in advance.

      Still, the day is often used as an important barometer of
people's willingness to spend during the holidays - vital weeks for
merchants nationwide.

      This year, many of the in-store deals were also available
online, causing some Web sites to overload as pajama-clad shoppers
tried to get deals without waiting in long lines in the cold.

      Web marketing analyst Coremetrics said its data showed the
average amount online shoppers spent on Black Friday rose 35
percent as shoppers spent roughly $170.19 per order - up from
$126.04 last year.


      The San Mateo, Calif. company also said Web shoppers also bought
more items with each purchase.

      Shop-by-television sales were also strong at the TV shopping
network QVC, which said its Black Friday sales totaled $32 million
- up almost 60 percent from last year, thanks to its first-ever
push to promote its post-Thanksgiving deals.


      Executives at J.C. Penney Co. said Saturday that their day after
Thanksgiving business in stores was "strong" nationwide as
shoppers snatched up doorbusters.


      However, officials at the department store chain, which did not
provide specific data about this year's business compared with last
year, also cautioned that one weekend's performance wasn't enough
to predict how the rest of the holiday season would fare.


      Saturday's in-store figures were compiled by ShopperTrak RCT
Corp., a Chicago research firm that tracks sales at more than
50,000 stores.

Gallery

Shoppers pack stores as holiday season revs up

Business and Economic News

Shoppers spent only slightly more in stores this
Black Friday than they did last year, according to data released
Saturday by a national research firm.


Report: Black Friday store spending up 0.5 percent

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