Survey: Record 247M shop during Black Friday weekend

A record 247 million shoppers traveled to stores and visited websites during Black Friday weekend, trumping last year's figure of 226 million, according to a survey conducted by BIGinsight for the National Retail Federation.

The survey, which polled 4,005 consumers Nov. 23-24 and has a 1.6 percent margin of error, found more than 35 million shoppers visited stores and websites on Thanksgiving, compared to 29 million last year. On Black Friday itself, the survey pointed to a record 89 million shoppers, up from 86 million last year, according to a news release.

Total spending is estimated at $59.1 billion, compared to $52.4 billion last year.

“There’s no question that millions of people were drawn to retailers’ aggressive online promotions this weekend, making sure to research and compare prices days in advance to ensure they were getting the best deal they could,” BIGinsight Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow said in the release. “With shopper traffic increasing at department, discount and clothing stores during the weekend, it’s clear that consumers still recognize Black Friday as one of the biggest shopping days of the year, as they have for decades.”

A BIGinsight survey conducted early this month for the NRF had projected up to 147 million people would visit stores and websites during the consumer holiday. Last year, 152 million people were predicted, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

According to a separate BIGinsight survey conducted for NRF division Shop.org, roughly 129.2 million shoppers are projected to shop on retailers' websites during Cyber Monday today, up from 122.8 million last year and 106.9 million in 2010. The survey polled 4,005 consumers Nov. 23-24, according to a news release.[[In-content Ad]]