{"id":11354,"date":"2011-11-25T21:11:06","date_gmt":"2011-11-25T21:11:06","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-11-25T21:11:06","modified_gmt":"2011-11-25T21:11:06","slug":"Record-US-retail-sales-on-Black-Friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=11354","title":{"rendered":"Record US retail sales on Black Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

US retail sales on Black Friday hit a new record for the start of the holiday shopping season that follows Thanksgiving, according to early estimates published today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales hit $11.4 billion, up 6.6 percent compared to last year, and the biggest dollar amount ever spent on Black Friday<\/strong>, Chicago-based research firm ShopperTrak said in a statement.<\/p>\n

It was the largest year-on-year gain since an 8.3 percent increase in sales between 2006 and 2007, the firm said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foot traffic in stores was up 5.1 percent compared to Black Friday 2010.<\/p>\n

Shoppers mobbed malls and went online in droves to snap up bargains late Thursday, through the night and into Friday — an annual sales ritual that marks the start to the end-of-year shopping season relied on by many retailers.<\/p>\n

The shopping frenzy lasts throughout the weekend and into Cyber Monday, when retailers offer hot deals online following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.<\/p>\n

The increase in sales appeared to be far higher than the inflation rate<\/strong>, which eased to 3.5 percent in October as compared with a year ago, according to US Labour Department data.<\/p>\n

The National Retail Federation was due to publish its first Black Friday sales estimates on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Great! Makes up for the woman who pepper sprayed the Wal-Mart crowd!<\/strong><\/p>\n