It's the time of the year when families gather and express their gratitude over a meal of delicious Turkey - Thanksgiving. While, US is celebrating its national holiday, the aviation industry in the US is expecting a record-breaking travel demand forecasts.

US braces for record Thanksgiving travel: More flights and cheaper fares for passengers | WION

The American shopping orgy known as Black Friday lured more buyers this year but they spent less per person thanks to great bargains, an industry group said on Sunday.

More than 154 million people made purchases during the four-day retail extravaganza that began Thursday on Thanksgiving, compared to 151 million last year, the National Retail Federation said.

Shoppers spent an average of $289.19, compared to $299.60 in 2015.

Sales over the Thanksgiving holiday, which extends into so-called Cyber Monday, are a good indicator of the health of US consumer spending.

Online sales dominated. A total of 44 per cent of those who took part in the NRF survey said they had bought via the internet while 40 per cent went to a brick-and-mortar store.

&quot;It was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals,&quot; NRF president Matthew Shay said.

The most popular day to shop online was Black Friday itself, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Of those who purchased online over the four-day period, 74 per cent did so on Friday, up 1.3 per cent from last year.

And of the people who went to actual stores over this shopping period, 75 per cent did so on Black Friday, up 3.4 per cent from last year, the NRF said.

Millennials, aged 18-34, drove the increase in shopping, with eight out of ten buying something over the long weekend.

Around 56 per cent of smartphone owners and 53 per cent of tablet owners used these devices to assist with their shopping.

The study was carried out by Prosper Insights &amp; Analytics with a sample of 4,330 people on November 25-26 and has a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points.

(AFP)

Shoppers spent an average of $289.19, compared to $299.60 in 2015

The American shopping orgy known as Black Friday lured more buyers this year but they spent less per person thanks to great bargains, an industry group said on Sunday. More than 154 million people made purchases during the four-day retail extravaganza that began Thursday on Thanksgiving, compared to 151 million last year, the National Retail Federation said. Shoppers spent an average of $289.19, compared to $299.60 in 2015. Sales over the Thanksgiving holiday, which extends into so-called Cyber Monday, are a good indicator of the health of US consumer spending. Online sales dominated. A total of 44 per cent of those who took part in the NRF survey said they had bought via the internet while 40 per cent went to a brick-and-mortar store. "It was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals," NRF president Matthew Shay said. The most popular day to shop online was Black Friday itself, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Of those who purchased online over the four-day period, 74 per cent did so on Friday, up 1.3 per cent from last year. And of the people who went to actual stores over this shopping period, 75 per cent did so on Black Friday, up 3.4 per cent from last year, the NRF said. Millennials, aged 18-34, drove the increase in shopping, with eight out of ten buying something over the long weekend. Around 56 per cent of smartphone owners and 53 per cent of tablet owners used these devices to assist with their shopping. The study was carried out by Prosper Insights & Analytics with a sample of 4,330 people on November 25-26 and has a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points. (AFP)

US Black Friday: More shoppers but less spent per head

Black Friday turned out to be a damp squib for the malls in the United States, with stores witnessing a lower customer turnout despite the steep prices opening its doors to the biggest shopping extravaganza, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

The traditional start to the holiday shopping season saw a thin crowds in the shopping areas of New York and Chicago as compared to previous years on the Thanksgiving holiday.&nbsp;

&quot;Nobody was busting down the doors at 6 am,&quot; Reuters reported Tracy Watkins, a Bed, Bath and Beyond store manager at the Chicago Ridge Mall as saying.&nbsp;

&quot;I&#39;ve been here on other Black Fridays and it was bad, but I guess this year because of the hours it&#39;s not bad. Really calm,&quot; said shopper Lauren Green, who was in line outside a Zara clothing store in the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island east of New York at 5:20 am.

Customer traffic at malls and stores paled in front of online sales that surged towards the end of the day. &nbsp;Online spending climbed to $1.13 billion, according to Adobe Digital Index, surging almost 14 per cent from a year ago, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

The National Retail Federation said total sales were expected to rise this holiday season by 3.6 per cent to $655.8 billion due to increase in online buying.&nbsp;

Retailer Amazon.com Inc offered some of the best deals with an average of 42 per cent off in comparison to 33 per cent off on Walmart, 35 per cent on Target and 36 per cent on Best Buy , according to e-commerce analytics firm Clavis Insight. Walmart turned out to be one of the biggest gainers and called the day as &quot;one of the of the top online shopping days of the year.&quot;

Macy&#39;s Inc website saw such heavy traffic that they delayed customers from accessing th website three different times.&nbsp;

President-elect Donald Trump&#39;s store jumped into the madness by offering a 30 per cent-off deal on all campaign products.&nbsp;

The holiday shopping season, which runs through Thanksgiving and Christmas on Dec. 25, can account for as much as 40 per cent of retailers&#39; annual sales, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

The popularity of shopping stores has witnessed a downfall with the increasing emergence of online shopping that offers invariably better variety of products and cheap deals.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

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Customer traffic at malls and stores paled in front of online sales that witnessed a surge towards the end of the day

Black Friday turned out to be a damp squib for the malls in the United States, with stores witnessing a lower customer turnout despite the steep prices opening its doors to the biggest shopping extravaganza, Reuters reported. The traditional start to the holiday shopping season saw a thin crowds in the shopping areas of New York and Chicago as compared to previous years on the Thanksgiving holiday. "Nobody was busting down the doors at 6 am," Reuters reported Tracy Watkins, a Bed, Bath and Beyond store manager at the Chicago Ridge Mall as saying. "I've been here on other Black Fridays and it was bad, but I guess this year because of the hours it's not bad. Really calm," said shopper Lauren Green, who was in line outside a Zara clothing store in the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island east of New York at 5:20 am. Customer traffic at malls and stores paled in front of online sales that surged towards the end of the day. Online spending climbed to $1.13 billion, according to Adobe Digital Index, surging almost 14 per cent from a year ago, Reuters reported. The National Retail Federation said total sales were expected to rise this holiday season by 3.6 per cent to $655.8 billion due to increase in online buying. Retailer Amazon.com Inc offered some of the best deals with an average of 42 per cent off in comparison to 33 per cent off on Walmart, 35 per cent on Target and 36 per cent on Best Buy , according to e-commerce analytics firm Clavis Insight. Walmart turned out to be one of the biggest gainers and called the day as "one of the of the top online shopping days of the year." Macy's Inc website saw such heavy traffic that they delayed customers from accessing th website three different times. President-elect Donald Trump's store jumped into the madness by offering a 30 per cent-off deal on all campaign products. The holiday shopping season, which runs through Thanksgiving and Christmas on Dec. 25, can account for as much as 40 per cent of retailers' annual sales, Reuters reported. The popularity of shopping stores has witnessed a downfall with the increasing emergence of online shopping that offers invariably better variety of products and cheap deals. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Thin crowd at US stores as Black Friday sales begin