According to the survey, buyers spent $11.3 billion at retail stores and malls. This number is nearly $1 billion more than what people spent in 2010.
It was the largest amount ever spent on the day that marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, and the biggest year-over-year increase since 2007.
Chicago-based ShopperTrak gathers data from 25,000 outlets across the U.S., including individual stores and shopping centers.
Online shopping jumped up as well, with a 24.3-percent increase in online spending on Black Friday, according to IBM, which tracks sales at 500 online retailers.
ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin said he suspect things will quiet down somewhat over the weekend, as promotions end and the buying frenzy subsides. ShopperTrak is expecting holiday sales to be up 3.3 percent overall through Christmas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.