More than 70 percent of Americans shopped Thanksgiving weekend

Nearly three in four Americans went shopping - either online or in person - over Thanksgiving weekend, according to data released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation.

The 174 million Americans who shopped between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday spent an average $335 per person during that five-day period, the trade group said. The biggest spenders, millennials aged 24 to 35, paid out an average $419.52 per person.

'The fundamentals of the economy remain strong,” Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation, said in a media call Tuesday afternoon. 'Things are setting up very well for a very strong finale to the year.”

Consumer confidence, meanwhile, continues to climb to 17-year highs. The consumer confidence index rose to 129.5 in November, up from 126.2 a month earlier, according to new data released Tuesday by the Conference Board.

In all, Americans are projected to spend about $680 billion this holiday season, marking a 3.6 percent to 4 percent increase from last year's $655.8 billion, according to NRF estimates.

Those figures are in line with last year's 3.6 percent growth in holiday spending.

Among those who made purchases this holiday weekend, about 58 million people shopped online only, while 51 million shopped exclusively in stores. The remaining 65 million consumers shopped both online and in stores.