Promotions earlier in November took a toll on in-store sales during the Thanksgiving weekend, when total spending was the same as last year, according to the NRF.

The drop in store traffic has been offset to a large extent by online sales. Forrester expects U.S. households to spend $95.5 billion online during the holiday season, up 11 percent over last year. E-commerce accounts for 10 percent of U.S. retail spending annually, but 14 percent of spending during November and December, the company said.

The surge in online sales did not significantly disrupt services this year at delivery companies like United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp, which put firm cut-off dates for gifts to ship in time for Christmas, the companies and consultants said.

Most retailers had little choice but to comply with the cut-off dates.

"We have stopped (free shipping) for orders that promised delivery by Christmas" because of UPS' cut-off date, said Noelle Sadler, chief marketing officer at online clothing retailer Lulus.

Weaker Traffic

Analytics firm RetailNext, which tracks specialty stores like Best Buy Co Inc and large retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp, said sales dropped 6.7 percent over the pre-Christmas weekend compared with a year ago, and store traffic dipped 10.4 percent. However, customers who did hit the stores spent more.

"The jury is still out," said Bridget Johns, head of customer engagement at RetailNext. "We still have over a week before the season closes but it will surely be a race to the finish line."

Best-sellers during the holiday season have included toys and home improvement items like appliances, tools, furnishings and home decor.

But apparel sales plummeted as warm weather hurt sales of winter clothing and discounts on electronics hurt retail margins, even as sales volumes in the category remained robust.

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