$52 Billion Spent on Black Friday

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(CNN) Earlier than ever store openings and steep discounts helped retailers notch record sales this Black Friday weekend, according to early reports.

Total spending over the four-day weekend following Thanksgiving reached a record $52.4 billion, up 16% from $45 billion last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation released Sunday.

A record 226 million consumers shopped in stores and online between Thursday and Sunday, up from 212 million last year. Individual shoppers spent more too, the NRF said. The average holiday shopper shelled out $398.62, up from $365.34 in 2010.

Earlier openings at big-box retailers like Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Toys R Us and Target's (TGT, Fortune 500) was one factor boosting sales -- particularly among men and young adults, according to the early tally. Nearly one-quarter of Black Friday shoppers were at stores by midnight on Black Friday, up from only 9.5% in 2010, the NRF said.

"I would say that means we will have to be on the look-out for a new tradition and that is more and more stores will be opening on Thanksgiving night next year," Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, said in a statement. Read full story at CNN Money...