More than 147 million shoppers hit the stores on Black Friday weekend, up 4.8% from last year, according to the National Retail Federation's (NRF) 2007 Black Friday Weekend Survey, conducted by BIGresearch.

Consumers spent an average of nearly $350, down 3.5% from last year, but still up a strong 14.8% from 2005. Retailers made up for the lower average expenditure with increased traffic, the NRF said.

"This year consumers were focused on lower-priced doorbusters like digital photo frames, laptops and cashmere sweaters," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin.

Black Friday was marked with retailers opening their doors earlier than ever, with some choosing to start their sales as early as midnight. This strategy appeared to pay off as 14.3% of consumers were out shopping before 4 a.m., compared to 12.4% last year.

The most popular items purchased were clothing or clothing accessories (46.8%) as well as books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games (41.7%). With a greater emphasis on door-buster specials in consumer electronics, men outspent women $393.63 to $303.95.

The NRF continues to project that holiday sales will rise 4% this year to $474.5 billion, and online sales today-Cyber Monday, launching the online holiday shopping season-will contribute to the total. According to a Shop.org survey conducted by BIGresearch, 31.9% of adults will shop today, with 54.5% of office workers with Internet access shopping while on the job.

According to the Shop.org/Shopzilla eHoliday Survey, 72.2% of online retailers are planning a special promotion for Cyber Monday, up from 42.7% two years ago.