Will Black Friday and Cyber Monday Lead to a Big Payday? Early reports show that the big holiday weekend was actually big this year, but consumers are looking for deals. Will retailers still be able to turn a profit?

By Carol Tice

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Early reports suggest that the big holiday weekend was actually big this year. In a snap poll from the National Retail Federation over the weekend, Black Friday shoppers spent a record $52 billion.

My quick, three-word summary for the weekend: Pent up demand. It seems like Americans are shaking off their economic-gloom and have scheduled some heavy retail therapy, at least for one weekend.

The question is, will the shopping spree continue up until Christmas? Or was this just one crazy weekend?

The NRF survey estimates that 226 million shoppers hit the stores or shopped online last weekend, up from 212 million on the same weekend last year. A record crowd showed up on Black Friday itself -- over 86 million. The most mind-boggling holiday-shopping stat I've seen so far: Nearly one-quarter of Black Friday shoppers went to midnight sales.

That sort of explains why retailers are opening earlier and earlier for the weekend kickoff, even though some consumers and employees don't approve. Naysayers are apparently in the minority though. Getting an early start was more popular this year than ever -- fewer than 10 percent of shoppers hit midnight sales on Thanksgiving 2010.

So what drove the shopping frenzy? Big, fat discounts. An October survey from America's Research Group and UBS, showed that more than one-third of American shoppers are looking for discounts of 40 percent to 50 percent off before they unleash their credit cards. More than 40 percent said they are trying to make purchases only when items are on sale.

Creative retailers should be scrambling for ways to offer steep discounts while still preserving some profit margin and staying in business. My forecast is, getting this balance right will be the foremost challenge of the holiday 2011 shopping season.

Big money spent on Black Friday sound great, but if everything's going out below cost, we'll see lots of empty storefronts come January. And remember, this is just the season kickoff -- discounts tend to get crazier in those final days before Christmas. Merchants will need to watch their bottom lines closely to make sure they end up turning a profit while they're catering to this year's shopping hordes.

Retailers and etailers, what's your holiday-season forecast? Leave a comment and let us know.

Carol Tice

Owner of Make a Living Writing

Longtime Seattle business writer Carol Tice has written for Entrepreneur, Forbes, Delta Sky and many more. She writes the award-winning Make a Living Writing blog. Her new ebook for Oberlo is Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Side Hustle

This Millennial Dad Just Wanted to Help His Daughter Care for Her Bearded Dragon. Then His Cricket-Breeding Side Hustle Exploded — Earning $27,000 in One Month.

It wasn't Jeff Neal's first attempt at a side gig, and before long, the "prototypical millennial side-hustler" realized his product had major potential.

Business News

Bill Gates Just Said These Are Some Of His Top Five Favorite Books Of All Time

The billionaire typically releases a favorite book of the year list. But he switched it up on Monday and released some of his all-time favorites.

Leadership

4 Out of 5 Entrepreneurs Step Down as CEO — Here Are 3 Things You Need to Do So You're Not One of Them.

Navigating the journey from entrepreneur to CEO is a profound transformation, one that often separates visionary founders from effective business leaders.

Business News

Chipotle Customer Throws Food At Employee in Brawl, Judge Offers Employment Instead of Jail Time

The video of the September 5 altercation quickly went viral on Reddit.