(fxcue news) - An estimated 197 million people shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday in the United States, but lower than last year's record of 200.4 million, an annual survey by the National Retail Federation or NRF shows. However, Black Friday shoppers grew from last year, and remained the most popular day for both in-store and online shopping. Cyber Monday was the second most popular day for online shopping, but the number of shoppers were lower than last year. During the holiday season of November 1 through December 31, NRF forecasts holiday spending to grow between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent over 2023, totaling $979.5 billion to $989 billion. A recent report by Mastercard SpendingPulse indicated that U.S. Black Friday retail sales, excluding automotive, were up 3.4 percent. Online Retail sales increased 14.6 percent, while in-store sales were up 0.7 percent, compared to Black Friday last year. As per the NRF survey of 3,055 adult consumers, conducted together with Prosper Insights & Analytics, total shoppers over the five-day holiday weekend still surpassed the agency's initial expectations of 183.4 million. A total of 126 million consumers shopped in-store, up from 121.4 million in 2023. Meanwhile, online shoppers dropped to 124.3 million from 134.2 million shoppers last year. Black Friday shoppers totaled 169 million, higher than prior year's 166.8 million. For the most popular shopping day of the year, 81.7 million consumers shopped in stores, up from 76.2 million a year ago, recording the highest level since the pandemic. Meawhile, around 87.3 million shopped online, down slightly from 90.6 million in 2023. Cyber Monday, which used to be the most popular day for online shopping historically, recorded 64.4 million consumers, down from 73.1 million in 2023. Of the Cyber Monday online shoppers, 63 percent opted to use their mobile device, up from 55 percent last year. During Thanksgiving weekend, the top shopping destinations were department stores and online, each 42 percent, while 40 percent opted grocery stores and supermarkets, 37 percent clothing and accessories stores, and 32 percent discount stores. A good number of shoppers were more focused on picking up holiday gifts. Consistent with last year, 86 percent of shoppers purchased gifts during the five-day period, spending $235 on average, $8 more than 2023. The top gifts purchased included clothing and accessories, toys, gift cards, food and candy and personal care or beauty items. According to Mastercard, jewelry, electronics, and apparel remained the top gift sectors for the holidays, with particular strength in e-commerce for apparel on Black Friday. NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay commented, "Thanksgiving weekend retains its prominence among holiday spending events and continues to play a significant role in the holiday season for both consumers and retailers. Even with this year's shortened shopping period and the multitude of early sales promotions from retailers, this past weekend exceeded expectations in terms of the sheer volume of shoppers."