LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3 (Chinese media) -- More than 172 million shoppers visited stores and Web sites over the Thanksgiving weekend, up from 147 million in 2007, according to figures published by three firms on Wednesday.
Spending for Friday through Sunday was estimated at 41 billion dollars, up from 34.6 billion dollars a year ago, although more consumers said they had completed more shopping earlier this year, according to the National Retail Federation which conducted the Black Friday Weekend survey.
ShopperTrak, a Chicago research firm, said that general, apparel, furniture and office sales hit 10.6 billion dollars on Friday, a 3 percent rise compared with last year, but fell 0.8 percent on Saturday compared with 2007. For the two days, the net was an overall increase of 1.9 percent compared with last year.
Spending Pulse, a report from MasterCard Advisors, said spending in several key categories was up on Friday and Saturday compared with last year. Specialty apparel sales rose 1.6 percent; luxury goods, 2.4 percent; and e-commerce, 11.8 percent. However, sales at electronics specialty retailers -- a big-ticket category and an important one for gifts -- fell 14.3 percent.
"The deeply discounted items -- early sales and promotions, lots of door busters -- had the desired effect in driving folks to the malls and getting them to spend," said Aaron Martin, a spokesman for Shopper Trak.
But besides bargain hunting, there were other signs consumers were cutting back.
"We saw efficient shoppers -- more folks headed to the mall, but when they got there, they visited fewer stores," Martin said. "They knew ahead of time where the discounts were."
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