It looks like the Black Friday shopping frenzy may be losing its luster.

According to the National Retail Federation, early figures show that the number of Black Friday sales dropped 11 percent both in stores and on the web over the Thanksgiving weekend to $50.9 billion, compared to $57.4 billion last year.

Although many stores opened their doors even earlier this Thanksgiving, data released Sunday by the group reveals that shoppers spent an average of $380.95 at stores during the holiday weekend, compared with $407.02 a year ago. Plus, only 133.7 million people shopped or planned to shop at stores or online over the four-day weekend, which is a 5.2 percent dip from last year.

"The Black Friday hype has come and mostly gone" due to "significant changes to the way consumers shopped, retailers promoted and the general importance of the day itself," said Ken Perkins, the founder of Retail Metrics, an industry research company, according to The New York Times.

Retail experts say that the drop in sales is partly due to the fact that retailers kicked off their holiday sales earlier in the month, giving customers the opportunity to do holiday shopping before the Black Friday mayhem.

NRF President and Chief Executive Matthew Shay said another reason could be "there are a significant number of Americans out there for whom the recession is not yet over."

Shay added that people also might be waiting or expecting even better deals later on in the season.

However, he said that the preliminary results indicate that retailers will have a grueling struggle to make year-end sales.

"It's going to be a dogfight for the entire season every day, every minute," he said. "Holiday sales are now a marathon, not a sprint."

The NRF survey also shows that discounted high-end apparel, televisions and toys were the most popular among consumers this year, while video games, home furnishings and jewelry sales also did well, reports Reuters.

Meanwhile, department stores like Macy's received the most foot traffic, followed by big discount stores like Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy.