Nancy Ford Shopping Quotations

For the most part, spending continued steadily throughout the weekend. It is not unusual to see a slight slowdown in sales after an initial surge on the day after Thanksgiving -- particularly with a long shopping season.

With both Christmas and Hanukkah coming late in the week, and considering that two of last year's top four shopping days fell immediately before Christmas, it is still possible that we will see a boost in spending.

A long pre-Christmas shopping weekend helped buoy December retail sales by 2.1 percent, just edging out November's 1.9 percent gain. As a result, the year ended on a positive note, albeit modest; and consumer confidence is on the rise again - a good sign moving into the New Year.

Consumers have been on a shopping frenzy for so long, they may be trying now to 'pace themselves' in preparation for the upcoming holiday shopping season.