On the first Friday after thanksgiving 140,000,000 shoppers spent slightly more than $360 each, up by 18.9% from last year. The first Friday after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday because as the official kick off to the Christmas, shopping season, it marks the point in the year when traditionally, retailers’ balance sheets move into the black.
“Each year, consumers have greater expectations for doorbuster specials, forcing retailers to raise the bar,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin in a statement. “This year, stores did not disappoint.”

The NRF survey said that one-third of shoppers had hit the stores by 6 a.m. and that more than half had visited at least one store by 9 a.m.

The NRF anticipates holiday sales will grow 5 percent to $457.4 billion, slower than last year’s 6.1 percent increase.

The WSJ reports concerns on the part of economists however, that increased sales may represent only deep discounts instead of fundamental strengths (see WSJ Why the Economy Needs Consumers to shop), particularly in light of consumers’ decreasing wealth in a softening real estate market.