by Calculated Risk on 11/25/2007 04:20:00 PM

The National Retail Federation reports: Black Friday Weekend Traffic up 4.8 Percent as Consumers Shop for Smaller Ticket Items

According to the National Retail Federation's 2007 Black Friday Weekend Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, more than 147 million shoppers hit the stores on Black Friday weekend, up a solid 4.8 percent from last year.

Consumers spent an average of $347.44, down 3.5 percent from last year, but still up an incredibly strong 14.8 percent from 2005. Retailers made up for the lower average expenditure with increased traffic.

The retail picture is still somewhat muddled. For the retailers included in the NRF survey, real sales (inflation adjusted) are off just over 2% from last year.