Retail Merriment Reined In

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Consumers may have shown some initial enthusiasm in the first official weekend of holiday shopping, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be clogging up stores for the rest of the season.

The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, drew an estimated 147 million shoppers, up 4.8% over the year before, according to the National Retail Federation.

Another industry tracker, ShopperTrak, estimated that Black Friday sales grew 8.3%, while sales on Saturday rose 5.4%. But the average spending per customer was down 3.5%, reinforcing concerns that the holidays will generate only a modest jump in sales. ...