Mixed Start to Holiday Shopping Season

The holiday shopping season began with a solid show of spending on Friday, but consumers faded by the weekend’s close and many retailers were facing decent but hardly impressive sales.

Big chains including J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Sears, Roebuck and Co. were pleased with their sales. But Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was less fortunate — the industry leader said its sales in the seven days that ended Friday were disappointing, and the company lowered its sales forecasts for November.

“Friday overall was strong, but Saturday was weak and disappointing, so together it was only a modest two-day performance,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at International Council of Shopping Centers. “Still, I continue to believe that this is not a bellwether for how the season will end up.”

There’s always hype, then the stories about how the weekend didn’t meet expectations, and so forth. And the headlines are almost always more negative than the stories themselves.