WEEKEND SHOPPERS CAME FOR BIG SALES BUT DIDN’T SPEND FREELY

Lured out of bed on Black Friday by deals on laptop computers and flat panel televisions, Americans hit the stores early and in droves. But, according to polls, shoppers didn’t stray too far beyond the door-buster deals that retailers offered to entice them inside.

The National Retail Federation reports that while more people shopped on the day after Thanksgiving this year, they spent less money. They estimate that 195 million people shopped over the weekend which is up from 172 million in 2008. However, the federation concluded that the average shopper spent $343.31, which is down 8% from $372.57 a year earlier.

Those specials continued Monday, as retailers hawked their deals on line on the first Monday after Thanksgiving known as Cyber Monday. Though Internet shopping accounts for only 10% of total holiday sales, it has seen most of the growth so far this year. Coremetrics, an Internet research firm, reported midday Monday that online sales were up 19.6% over 2008.