Black Friday wasn’t projected to be very successful this year. Why? Because the U.S. economy isn’t doing too hot, so experts expected that sales would be down on Black Friday. However, Black Friday was not bleak at all for retailers this year.

The official holiday shopping season was kicked off on Black Friday. Retailers around the country didn’t get their hopes up. Experts predicted that the day after Thanksgiving would bring lower-than-average sales. These experts couldn’t have been more wrong.

Black Friday this year did better than it did last year, if you can believe it. Malls and shopping centers were more crowded than ever. It has been estimated that over 172 million shoppers took advantage of Black Friday deals this year. These consumers went shopping over the course of the three-day weekend.

Last year, only 147 million shoppers went out. That is more than 30 million people that took advantage of Black Friday deals this year. These shoppers didn’t go out for nothing. The average shopper spent over $370…$372.57 to be exact. Last year, the average shopper only spent $347.55. There were quite a few more shoppers this year and the average shopper spent more this year than last year. In fact, shoppers spent, on average, about $25 more than last year. Over $41 billion was spent over the course of last weekend.

These are surprising numbers, especially considering the economic crisis our country is in right now. Black Friday deals aren’t over though. Many of these excellent deals are being carried into today. Today, Cyber Monday, is targeted to benefit online shoppers. A recent survey conducted by Shop.org predicts that 84.6 million people plan on shopping online today.

Scott Silverman, the Executive Director at Shop.org recently said, “Online retailers have been planning their Cyber Monday promotions for months and are eagerly waiting to debut these deals to shoppers. Many people who didn’t want to fight the crowds or get up early to stand in line over the weekend have been waiting until Cyber Monday to start their holiday shopping.”

Cyber Monday could surely bring more good news to already pleased retailers. Over 83 percent of retailers are offering special deals and promotions. Black Friday was already successful and Cyber Monday is expected to be even more successful. Who said this economy is struggling? Numbers from the Black Friday weekend show quite the opposite.

Make you holiday shopping more enjoyable this year with credit card rewards.