Holiday shoppers ring up higher sales on Black Friday weekend

Drawn by heavy promotions and earlier-than-ever opening times, shoppers swarmed the malls on Black Friday weekend and handed retailers a good start to the holiday season.

A record number of people headed to stores and shopped online from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, spending more than last year on presents and indulging in some items for themselves. They rang up an estimated $52.4 billion in sales during the four-day weekend, up from $45 billion last year, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.