NEW YORK — The start to the holiday season was solid. ShopperTrak said that customer visits were up 8.2 percent for the four-day weekend, starting with Thanksgiving, while total sales rose 2.7 percent to $22 billion, compared with the same period a year ago. Last year sales were up 1.7 percent.

Sales generated on Thanksgiving totaled $800 million, spurred by retailers opening earlier.