WASHINGTON (AFP) –
After a modest start to the US holiday shopping season with "Black Friday," online retailers are looking to "Cyber Monday" for a boost in sales.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Americans spent 41.2 billion dollars over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, seen as the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season, compared to 41.0 billion dollars a year ago.

Many more Americans hit stores and websites -- 195 million compared to 172 million a year ago, the NRF survey said -- but their average spending fell to 343.31 dollars per person from 372.57 dollars.

"Shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing to open their wallets for a bargain, heading out to take advantage of great deals on less expensive items like toys, small appliances and winter clothes," said NRF president and chief executive Tracy Mullin.

"While retailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shopped over Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas," Mullin said in a statement.

According to Internet tracking firm comScore, e-commerce spending hit 595 million dollars on Black Friday, up 11 percent over last year, and the NRF said 28.5 percent of Americans shopping over the weekend were doing so online.

ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said the "acceleration in spending suggests the online holiday season may be shaping up slightly more optimistically than anticipated.

"It may also reflect the heavy discounting and creative promotions being put forth by retailers that now encompass the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter," Fulgoni added.

He said Cyber Monday and the subsequent weeks "will be the real test for how online retailers fare this season. That said, this is a very encouraging start," Fulgoni said.

The NRF said 96.5 million Americans plan to shop online on Cyber Monday, up from 85 million in 2008.

"Americans appreciate the convenience of shopping online, which doesn't require standing in line, circling for a parking spot, or even changing out of your pajamas," said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org.

Cyber Monday used to be a day for bargain-hunters to take advantage of faster Internet connections at work but the survey found that most shoppers -- 91.5 percent -- now do so from home.

"As the number of Americans with high-speed Internet at home increases, fewer people feel the need to shop online from work," said Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategic initiatives at BIGresearch.

"While many companies don't mind employees shopping online over their lunch hours, high unemployment and concerns over job security may cause more people to shop this Cyber Monday from the comforts of their own home," he said.

According to comScore, 10.57 billion dollars has been spent online during the first 27 days of the November, up three percent from corresponding period last year.

Online retail giant Amazon was the most visited retail property on Black Friday with 28 percent more unique visitors than a year ago, followed by Walmart, which saw growth of 22 percent, it said.

Apple was up 39 percent, Target was two percent higher and Best Buy sites grew 24 percent.

"Much attention has focused on Amazon and Walmart this season, and both retailers performed particularly well online on Black Friday in terms of attracting visitors," comScore's Fulgoni said.

"We will be watching closely to see how these retailers perform during these next critical weeks of the season," he said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) –
Manufacturing in parts of the United States was picking up steam, data showed on Monday, but jobs were lagging the recovery and consumers remained cautious, economists said.

Business activity in the Midwest and in New York City expanded more than anticipated in November, but analysts worry that the U.S. economic recovery may lose momentum in 2010 after retail data showed consumers tightened their purse strings on the biggest shopping day of the year.

Monday's data "is all consistent with a gradual to moderate economic recovery," said Scott Brown, chief economist with Raymond James & Associates in St Petersburg, Florida.

On Wall Street stocks rose on the business activity data, with the Dow up 20 points in early trading. (.N)

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer grew faster than anticipated in November, rising to 56.1, which is above the 50 mark which divides expansion from contraction.

Economists look to the report for clues about trends in the national Institute for Supply Management manufacturing report, due on Tuesday, because there are broad correlations between the two reports.

For graphic see http://link.reuters.com/pap24g

However, the Chicago report showed employment still in the doldrums, Brown cautioned. "Consumer finances are still strained and the labor market is weak," he said.

Business activity in New York City expanded in November for the fourth consecutive month, while a gauge of business optimism was at its highest in more than three years, an industry report showed.

The Institute for Supply Management-New York's seasonally adjusted index of current business conditions rose to 62.9 in November from 60.8 in October. The 50 level separates growth from contraction.

Respondents showed some optimism about near term business prospects. ISM-New York's six-month outlook index rose to 74.4 in November, its highest since September 2006, from 68.9 in October.

Yet retail data show that cash-strapped consumers spent significantly less per person at the start of the holiday season even than last year, when Lehman Brothers' cataclysmic collapse had paralyzed the global financial system.

Consumers said they will have spent nearly 8 percent less on average, or about $343 per person, over the weekend that included Thanksgiving, Black Friday and ran through Sunday, according to the National Retail Federation.

(Additional reporting by Emily Flitter, Ros Krasny, Nicole Maestri and Brad Dorfman; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

BOSTON (Reuters) –
Business activity in the U.S. Midwest expanded more than expected in November, reaching its highest level in over a year as new orders jumped, a report showed on Monday.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer rose to 56.1 from 54.2 in October, the strongest since August 2008.

"It shows manufacturing activity is holding up after a recovery in the third quarter, and it looks like the bounce we got in the auto sector probably is helping other areas too," said Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St Louis, Missouri.

Economists had forecast the index at 53.7. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the regional economy.

"The breakdown was generally on the encouraging side," said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Global Banking and Markets in Greenwich, Connecticut. "The one area in the Chicago data that remains notably worse than the national averages is the employment index."

New orders jumped to 62.8 from 61.4, the highest point since May 2007, even as production sagged to 57.6 from 63.9 last month.

The barometer's employment index rose to 41.9 from 38.3 in October, the highest since September 2008. Prices paid rose to 52.6 from 48.6.

The ISM-Chicago index is often regarded as a factory index because the region is relatively industrialized. But service-sector and nonprofit forms are polled as well.

"The latest uptick will tend to underpin expectations that the ISM manufacturing numbers will remain reasonably buoyant," Ruskin said. The national ISM factory report is due on Tuesday.

Separately, ISM-Milwaukee reported its monthly purchasing managers' index at 57 in November versus 50 in October.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)