U.S. shoppers spend billions over Thanksgiving weekend (2)

Holiday shoppers cannot wait for the shopping bonanza. The survey found 28.0 percent of shoppers were at the stores by midnight on Black Friday, compared to 24.4 percent last year. They also spent more of their budget on-line. The average person spent 172.42 dollars on-line, or roughly 40.7 percent of their total weekend spending, up from 37.8 percent last year.

Among the four-day weekend, 27.0 percent of holiday shoppers said they shopped on-line on Thanksgiving Day, and 47.5 percent on Black Friday. "It's clear that consumers still recognize Black Friday as one of the biggest shopping days of the year, as they have for decades," said BIGinsight Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow.

The survey, conducted on Nov. 23 to 24, polled 4,005 consumers. It was estimated that 139.4 million unique U.S. adult consumers shopping in stores or on-line over multiple days.

Thanksgiving weekend marks the beginning of the holiday season through December, when retailers keep customers excited with attractive promotions. The two-month retail sales account for nearly a quarter of the whole year revenue, said the NRF.