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for retailers. >> it's all crazy all over the place. a little too much but i figured this year why not. >> reporter: foot traffic was up more than 5% from last year, almost a quart over black friday shoppers were in stores by midnight thursday according to the national retail federation which estimated spending for shoppers jumped 9% for the post-thanksgiving weekend why do you think sales were so strong? >> the consumer is much stronger and healthier than people understand. >> reporter: retail analyst craig johnson says americans have been paying down their debt. four years ago the ...

big sales matter because consumer spending accounts for 70% of the u.s. economy. will it last? we asked senior business correspondent anthony mason to look into it. >> reporter: the black friday weekend is the starting gun for the holiday shopping season and it went off with a bang. sales on black friday alone were up 6.6% to more than $11 billion making it the biggest shopping day ever according to shoppertrak. >> if i wait until later i won't get any good items. >> reporter: big discounts and earlier opening hours paid off for retailers. >> it's all crazy all over the place. a litt...