Best Buy is one of the winners of 2011's Black Friday.

Last year’s Black Friday was a disappointing one for Best Buy.  The company gambled on the fad of 3D televisions a bit too early; with no 3D players or content, early sales of the expensive televisions were slow and thus, the company took a bit of a beating in 2010.  Not so this year.  Best Buy is among the early leaders when it comes to Black Friday 2011 sales, as the company moved millions of dollars in stock out the door due to aggressive pricing, exclusive deals, and a midnight Thanksgiving Day opening.

“Last year, they weren’t as responsive with their pricing as they needed to be.  We are seeing a different set of behaviors from them this time around,” said portfolio manager Lawrence Creatura of Federated Clover Investment Advisors.  “Consumers have finite cash.  If you can be the retailer who gets that cash first, you are likely to be more successful in the holiday selling season.”

The news isn’t just rosy for Best Buy, the news is rosy for America’s economy.  Black Friday weekend was a huge success this year, in spite of high unemployment and economic turmoil.  Customers flocked to the stores, both physically and online, in droves, with a record 226 million people getting some shopping done on Black Friday.  Record numbers also drove record profits, with stores raking in a staggering $52.4 billion dollars in sales over Thanksgiving weekend.  I can only imagine that Cyber Monday will perk those sales figures up even more come Tuesday.

Tags: black friday, best buy, black friday sales numbers, thanksgiving weekend sales numbers, record number of shoppers on black friday, record amount of sales on black friday, black friday sales records, black friday sales figures, shopping, the economy, Lawrence Creatura, Federated Clover Investment Advisors

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