With some stores opening as early as 5 a.m. - and shoppers already lined up outside the doors – the busiest shopping weekend of the year kicked off in the U.S. with retailers offering specials to draw in big crowds.

 

“Retailers have gone all out with strong sales and promotions this weekend to flood their stores with shoppers,” said National Retail Federation President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Even consumers who preferred to sleep in could not pass up the incredible deals at stores across the country.”

Diamonds, DVDs, drills and other deals brought Americans to spend an estimated $8 billion. According to analyst firm ShopperTrak, Black Friday sales rose 10.8 percent from a year ago.

 

Visa USA announced Saturday afternoon that spending on Visa payment cards on Friday totaled more than $4.1 billion, a 15.5 percent increase over the same day last year.

 

Retailers and mall operators reported good traffic, probably very happy to see the long lines of eager shoppers. AP reports that by the time Wal-Mart's store in a Buffalo, N.Y. suburb opened its doors at 6 a.m., 1,000 people had formed a line outside despite temperatures of just 31 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius).

 

Families split up to cover several stores at once to take advantage of the early deals.

 

NRF’s Mullin said that, unless weather was a factor, shopper turnout on Black Friday could help retailers gauge consumer sentiments and attitudes.

 

“Strong sales on Black Friday can indicate that consumers are excited about the holidays and ready to spend. Consumers seem more settled this year and high gas prices don't seem to be keeping shoppers out of the stores,” Mullin said.

 

Black Friday is a term coined for the day after Thanksgiving, in which, traditionally, retailers went from being ‘in the red’ to being ‘in the black’. However, over the last several years, spending on the Saturday before Christmas has been 8 to 19 percent higher than the Friday after Thanksgiving, says Visa USA.

 

Online sales did well, too. Internet research firm comScore Networks Inc expects online holiday sales, excluding travel and auction sites, to increase 23 to 26 percent to $15.1 billion, from $12.3 billion a year ago.

 

Wayne Best, senior vice president for strategic economic analysis for Visa USA reports, “E-commerce growth remains a bright spot this holiday, expanding at nearly 32 percent since November 1,” among Visa cards users online. “The one area we will continue to watch is Specialty Retail, to see if the sales volume again moves upwards as we expect.”

 

Visa branded credit and debit cards in the U.S. represent over 14 percent of Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) in the country,

 

NRF continues to project an increase of 4.5 percent in holiday sales, bringing estimated revenues of $219.9 billion this holiday season as consumers plan to spend over $700 this year on holiday gifts, decorations, cards, candy, and food - up from $672 last holiday.

 

Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, told AP he predicts a “pretty good Christmas,” estimating that sales at stores open at least a year for the November-December period will be up from 3 percent to 4 percent, compared to a 4 percent rise a year ago.