Shoppers slow pace after early frenzy

Spending rises on strength of Friday discounts

In addition to Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price's T.M.X. Elmo, hot toys include Fisher-Price's Kids Tough Digital Camera, and some of the toy retailer's exclusives like VTech Holdings Ltd.'s pink Nitro Notebook, a laptop computer.

Gail Lavielle, spokeswoman at Sears Holdings, which also owns Kmart stores, said yesterday the stores were busy through Friday and Saturday. At Sears, flat-screen TVs, digital cameras and Craftsman tools were the hot items. At Kmart, holiday decor including Christmas trees, jewelry and toys were the most popular.

Retailers also expect to see a surge in online sales today.

The Monday after Thanksgiving has been named "Cyber Monday" by the retail industry because many employees are believed to come to work and shop where they have faster Internet connections. Online retail sales this holiday season are expected to reach $27 billion, a 23 percent increase over last year, according to Forrester Research.

"We're expecting pretty good sales," Visa's Cohen said. "Last year was a pretty good Christmas, so that's hard to beat. This year will be good, but not as good."

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.