According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) our wallets are hit hard as well.
"It has to do with your idea of state government and the Internet, " notes NRF's Riehl.
"There are more people celebrating Father's Day today, " explains Scott Krugman, vice president of the NRF.
The NRF excludes the sales of autos, gas and restaurants in its definition of retail sales.
This is far below the nonsensical 13% number the National Retail Federation (NRF) trumpets to gullible journalists.
"It's a staggering problem for our industry, " says Joseph LaRocca, the NRF's vice president for loss prevention.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that 480, 000-500, 000 seasonal positions will be added, depending on sales activity.
Part of the increase is attributed to the expanding categories, explains Scott Krugman , vice president of the NRF.
It added that according to an NRF survey conducted by BIGinsight, traffic and spending grew over the entire weekend.
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The NRF reported that the number of shoppers reached 212 million, an 8.7% increase over 2009's black Friday weekend.
About one-third of Black Friday shoppers were internet buyers, according to the NRF.
The holiday season defined by NRF runs from November 1 till December 31.
The NRF said 14% of shoppers bought jewelry, up from 12% last year.
Matthew Shay, CEO of the NRF, says the data should encourage retailers to be more aggressive in bringing in consumers.
"They are very savvy about where the penalties are greatest, " says Daniel Butler, vice president of retail operations at the NRF.
The NRF has forecast a 4.1% increase in retail sales during November and December, less than the 5.6% jump recorded last year.
Beemer, in fact, projects holiday sales growth of only 3.1% this year, far below the NRF's 5% estimate, due to heavy discounting.
Six million adults plan to dress as a witch this year, and 3.2 million will dress as vampires, say NRF and BIGInsight.
The most popular gift card purchases will be from department stores (39%), restaurants (33%) and book stores (21%), according to the NRF survey.
As a share of holiday spending last year, the NRF found that 80% of people bought gift cards, up from 77% in 2010.
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The NRF, going into this season, has predicted a sales increase of over 4% versus year ago, not record-setting but certainly stronger than GDP.
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Black Friday, named for its ability to make retailers profitable, is a barometer for shoppers' hunger for discounts, NRF Vice President Ellen Davis said.
Reports from the NRF (National Retail Federation) were far more glowing, including both brick and mortar and online over Black Friday and the weekend.
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The NRF, for one, thinks the move will hurt small retailers.
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"It's the beginning of the holiday season for the retail industry, " says Mike Gatti, executive director of the retail advertising and marketing association at NRF.
When it comes to screening potential employees, most companies are meticulous when it comes to verifying past employment and performing criminal background checks, the NRF found.
While he's not quite as gung-ho on the fall shopping season as the NRF survey, "to some extent, consumers will still make these purchases, " he says.
It sounds silly, but there might be some truth to it: the NRF survey did find that almost 70% of adults plan to celebrate Halloween this year.
In addition to seasonal jobs, the NRF estimates retailers have already created 108, 000 new jobs since last year, with 8, 000 of those coming just last month.
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