Holiday shoppers keen on deals, online spending up

By Jessica Wohl

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A focus on bargains pulled U.S. shoppers into stores and onto websites over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but many said they would stick to their budgets and avoid purchases if they couldn't find a good deal.

Shoppers turned out in force on Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving, and returned on Saturday for more.

Industry executives and analysts have predicted a tough holiday season that may only show a slight improvement over 2008, when retailers logged their worst holiday sales performance in nearly four decades, due to a weak economy and high unemployment.

"This will be the hardest holiday season ever to predict," said Eric Karson, associate professor of marketing at Villanova University's School of Business.

"We have this big game of chicken now evolving between the retailers and the customers," he said, referring to steep promotions on select items that were once intended to lure traffic and are now expected by shoppers. "The whole idea of the loss leader getting people into the store to buy other things may not work as well as it has in the past."

Some shoppers showed they were still relying on lessons learned from the 2008 season, which began just after a global financial crisis erupted. Armed with highly specific shopping lists, they would hunt for particular products or leave stores if they could not find the right item at the right price.

"The sales are good, but do they mark the things up beforehand? Sure, things are 25 percent, 40 percent off, but when you're starting out at $50 or $39 for a top, that's still some money," said Helene Mitauer, who shopped for herself at an Express store in Philadelphia on Friday.

An unemployment rate above 10 percent and other economic pressures also weighed on the minds of shoppers.