A record 196.7 million consumers shopped in stores and online over the five-day Black Friday weekend, according to a retail survey released Tuesday.
That’s up nearly 17 million over last year, the survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics found. It exceeded the researchers’ expectations by more than 30 million and was 10% higher than last year.
Consumers spent an average of $325.44 on Christmas items over the period between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with $229.21 spent specifically on gifts.
Shoppers were clearly ready to return to stores, said Matthew Shay, president and chief executive officer of the National Retail Federation.
Nearly 123 million people shopped in stores, he said, compared to 105 million last year. That's up 17% over the same period in 2021.
However, the number of online shoppers grew only incrementally, by 130 million for a 2% increase.
And 90% of shoppers felt that retailers' deals and promotions were better than last year's, Shay said.
While some researchers may say retail sales gains were due to inflation, Shay said, the historic increase in the number of shoppers means it's consumer demand that's driving growth.