Shares of retailers' stocks sank on Monday, after consumers swarmed stores on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, but focused on hunting for discounts.
Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Ralph Jean said in a client note on Monday that traffic increased during the "Black Friday" weekend but average spending declined about 3.5 percent compared with last year.
"Contributing to the decline in the average spend, in our opinion, was less frenzied purchasing of higher ticket high-definition televisions, which were aggressively promoted last year due to excess supplies of plasma high-definition TVs," he wrote. "We believe consumers were more focused on doorbuster deals for clothing, accessories, books, CDs, DVDs, video games and consumer electronics." Lazard Capital Markets analyst Todd Slater said in a note Monday that purchases were skewed toward electronics purchases, such as flat-screen TVs, and promotionally priced items such as cashmere sweaters.