<p>An unprecedented total of 226 million shoppers visited stores and web sites, compared with 212 million in 2010, according to a poll taken by the BIGresearch company for the NRF.<br /><br />The figures include Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Saturday, plus estimated spending for Sunday.<br /><br />The average outlay was $398.62 per person, compared with $365.34 last year.<br /><br />"(M)ore consumers than ever turned out for retailers' Black Friday promotions, a promising sign for the economic recovery," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.<br /><br />While 51.4 percent of consumers bought clothing and accessories, nearly four in 10 went for electronic products, according to the study taken Nov 24-26 with 3,826 shopper interviews and with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percent.<br /><br />Meanwhile 35.2 percent visited retailers' web sites, compared with 33.6 percent in 2010, seen as a good omen for Cyber Monday, a day for finding the best bargains on the Internet.<br /><br />NRF launched Cyber Monday in 2005 and last year it added sales of around $1 billion, according to the ComScore firm, which tracks online buying. <br /></p>
<p>An unprecedented total of 226 million shoppers visited stores and web sites, compared with 212 million in 2010, according to a poll taken by the BIGresearch company for the NRF.<br /><br />The figures include Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Saturday, plus estimated spending for Sunday.<br /><br />The average outlay was $398.62 per person, compared with $365.34 last year.<br /><br />"(M)ore consumers than ever turned out for retailers' Black Friday promotions, a promising sign for the economic recovery," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.<br /><br />While 51.4 percent of consumers bought clothing and accessories, nearly four in 10 went for electronic products, according to the study taken Nov 24-26 with 3,826 shopper interviews and with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percent.<br /><br />Meanwhile 35.2 percent visited retailers' web sites, compared with 33.6 percent in 2010, seen as a good omen for Cyber Monday, a day for finding the best bargains on the Internet.<br /><br />NRF launched Cyber Monday in 2005 and last year it added sales of around $1 billion, according to the ComScore firm, which tracks online buying. <br /></p>