US RETAILERS are poised to report November sales above forecasts, helped by an increase in shopper visits over the Thanksgiving weekend, promotions spread throughout the month and more consumers shopping for themselves.

Retailers hoped to continue that momentum yesterday on “Cyber Monday”, a term referring to the day many people make online gift purchases after the long Thanksgiving weekend. Online sales got off to a strong start on “Black Friday”, rising 9 per cent from last year, according to comScore.

In morning trading yesterday, Amazon.com shares hit an all-time high of $181.84 before paring those gains. However most retail stocks had a muted reaction as shares were bid up heading into the “Black Friday” weekend, which unofficially kicks off the holiday shopping season, amid signs consumers were more willing to spend.

“A lot of the enthusiasm is a bit misplaced,” said Walter Stackow, an analyst with Manning Napier. “We still have a consumer who is heavily indebted.”

The industry group National Retail Federation (NRF) said on Sunday that shopper traffic was up 8.7 per cent between Thanksgiving Day on Thursday and Sunday compared with the same period in 2009, and spending per person rose to $365.34 from $343.31 a year earlier.

The NRF data contrasts with that of Shoppertrak, which said that traffic to stores on Friday rose 2.2 per cent from a year ago and sales rose by a mere 0.3 per cent, which shows that where shoppers made purchases it was often on discounted items. That difference could reflect the fact that more people shopped on Thanksgiving and online, diluting the “Black Friday” rush to stores.

The strong weekend follows month after month of sales gains at top US retailers as the economy has stabilised and shoppers have paid down some of their credit card debt.