Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend bring about record retail sales

Every year, Americans spend billions of dollars on Black Friday. Many of them depend on short term lenders for extra cash to pay for gifts, while others max out their credit cards. However the money spent, this day, as well as Cyber Monday, can be viewed today as a breath of fresh funds for the economy, which has been in dire need of rejuvenation. According to the National Retail Federation, Black Friday Weekend brought in $52.4 billion in retail revenue, a record high. While this figure doesn’t include Cyber Monday, online shoppers spent an average of $150.53 during Black Friday weekend, amounting to nearly 40 percent of their total shopping for the weekend. Average spending per individual this past weekend amounted to $398.62 per person, nearly a 10 percent increase from the same period last year. "The appetite for these early openings is only getting stronger among holiday shoppers, and retailers did a great job providing Americans just what they wanted this weekend - the ability to shop on Black Friday without having to get out of bed before dawn,” Phil Rist, executive vice president of BIGresearch, said in a statement. "Consumers are clearly demonstrating their desire to spend this holiday season, and shopping early and often seem to be their new mantra as they seek the best value for all their holiday purchases." Even if the economy receives merely a temporary boost from the recent burst in spending, this may serve as a marking point to the road to fiscal recovery for the United States. The fact that 28.7 million people shopped both online and in-store Thanksgiving Day, a 6.5 million increase from last year, suggests more Americans have access to funds this year. For many Americans, the shopping season isn't over, but they may have trouble accessing funds. Consumers that maxed out their credit cards and can't access cash or credit can turn to a short term loan for a quick fix. Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF, said in a statement the record high sales during Thanksgiving week is a great step forward for the economy and he expects the trend to continue throughout December.