Black Friday weekend 2011 sees record turnout

More people headed to stores and websites over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and average spending per person rose 9.1 percent as bargain-hunting shoppers scooped up discounts on everything from gadgets to hoodies, a National Retail Federation survey on Sunday showed.

The trade group's survey found that a record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites over "Black Friday" weekend, up from 212 million last year.

It defines the Black Friday weekend as Thursday, Friday, Saturday and projected spending for Sunday.

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The average spending for the weekend rose to $398.62 per person from $365.34 a year ago. Total spending reached an estimated $52.4 billion versus $45 billion in the year-ago period.

According to its survey, the destination of choice appeared to be department stores, with nearly half of holiday shoppers visiting at least one.

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About 38 percent of shoppers said they went to discount retailers this weekend, while almost 31 percent visited electronics stores.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving that typically is seen as the start of the holiday shopping season.