The National Retail Federation Data Provide Mix Hits on Black Friday Weekend 2009

(Media outlets and blogs are mostly putting a positive spin on this news. I disagree with that spin, but I don't see this news as overly negative.  Looks like the economy and consumer spending are in holding patterns...)

From Investment Advisor.com

According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation over the weekend, 195 million shoppers hit the malls and other retail outlets over the Black Friday weekend, an increase of 23 million over last year’s shoppers.

The increased number of bargain hunters did not translate into bigger sales, however, although the average shopper did spend $343.31 and the overall total was estimated at $41.2 billion. Those figures represent a significant drop from the $372.57 average and $64 billion total seen over the same weekend in 2008