Black Friday Sales Plummet 11%

Fewer U.S. consumers are willing to do the mad dash to the mall for doorbuster deals as soon as they’ve finished their turkey. Black Friday weekend shopping disappointed retailers with an 11 percent decline in sales. Consumers spent $50.9 billion over the past four days, a marked drop from the $57.4 billion over the same period last year. To add insult to injury, the overall number of customers fell 6 million short of expected totals, according to the National Retail Federation. 2014 is the second consecutive year that Black Friday sales have slipped. A variety of reasons could contribute to its decline, including a shift to online shopping, which has increased 15 percent this year, and the fear of getting into a physical altercation in the baby section of a department store.