Thanksgiving Retail Sales Jump (RTH)

The average shopper spent 6.4% more than last year over the holiday weekend, the National Retail Federation said Sunday. Customers bought non-essentials like jewelry and toys, signaling that the U.S. economy may be regaining strength. U.S. retail sales during Thanksgiving weekend totaled $45 billion, the Washington-based NRF said in a statement, citing a survey conducted by BIGresearch. More people are shopping earlier, with the number of customers shopping on Thanksgiving Day more than doubling over the past five years, the group said. On Black Friday, traffic rose 2.2%, ShopperTrak said on Nov. 27. “Consumers are more comfortable spending again, and that trend has held up,” Maggie Taylor, a vice president at Moody's Investors Service in New York, said yesterday. “I don't think people are as worried about losing their jobs anymore.” According to a Bloomberg report, "The increase follows improvements in consumer sentiment. Confidence among U.S. consumers increased more than forecast in November to the highest level in five months, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. gross domestic product." More shoppers surveyed said they visited department stores this year as shoppers put more emphasis on service and selection, NRF spokeswoman Ellen Davis said on a conference call Sunday. Men outspent women, Davis noted. The NRF predicts a gain of 2.3% to $447.1 billion this holiday period after a rise of 0.4% last year and a 3.9% drop in 2008. The Retail HOLDRs ETF RTH closed Friday lower by $0.53, to $102.94.