Black Friday -- Not That Black

So the numbers are in from Black Friday weekend and they're not that bad. According to the National Retail Federation, traffic in stores was up 4.8 percent, but shoppers spent less -- an average $347.44, a 3.5 percent drop from 2006 and everyone is still being cautious about the net net of the holiday season. It appears the drop in average amount spent had more to do with what retailers were pushing -- lower ticket items like $400 laptops instead of $1,500 projection TVs like last year -- than bigger discounts on key items. "People thought it was a more promotional weekend regardless of whether it really was or not," said Keith Fulsher, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of Dress Barn told WWD. "There was definitely more media play, and maybe the illusion of higher promoting." But analysts told WWD that the number of discounts offered will likely affect retail margins for the end of the year.

The S&P Retail stocks posted a small improvement on Friday, but according to the Bespoke Investment Group, this means little about the performance we can expect for the rest of the year. The S&P Retail 500 closed up 1.61 percent, but my favorite retail stock, Nexcen, closed up 3.99 percent. I still believe the sector has been hit overly hard by the current woes in the economy. My advice to savvy shoppers -- put the money you didn't spent over the weekend into retail stocks.