Americans apparently disregarded the state of the economy, the failure of Congress to agree on a deficit package, unemployment, and low home values. ShopperTrak reported that Black Friday retail sales rose 6.6% to $11.4 billion–a record.
The research firm release said:
According to ShopperTrak — the world’s largest provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services —Black Friday sales increased 6.6 percent over the same day last year. This represents $11.40 billion in retail purchases and the biggest dollar amount ever spent during the day. Retail foot-traffic rose accordingly, increasing by 5.1 percent over Black Friday 2010.
“Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and the traditional start to the holiday shopping season,” said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin “Despite our sluggish economy, shoppers proved they are looking for value and ready to buy if given a good customer experience.”
“This is the largest year-over-year gain in ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate for Black Friday since the 8.3 percent increase we saw between 2007 and 2006. Still, it’s just one day. It remains to be seen whether consumers will sustain this behavior through the holiday shopping season.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks