Holiday season off to a modest start

UNDATED (AP) - Retailers have reason to feel better than they did in the jittery days leading up to Black Friday.
    A survey conducted for the National Retail Federation finds more than 172 million shoppers visited stores and Web sites over the weekend. That’s up from 147 million shoppers last year.
    The survey found shoppers spent an average of about $373, up more than 7 percent from last year.
    NRF’s president Tracy Mullin says there was some pent-up demand and that holiday sales are not expected to continue at a brisk pace.
    But she says it’s encouraging that Americans seem “excited to go shopping again.“
    Shoppers have been focusing on bargains and smaller-ticket items as they worry about layoffs, tightening credit and shrinking retirement funds.