Holiday Shopping Season off to Modest Start

At the mall's Macy's, one of a dozen in the Houston area, clothing, jewelry and home items — but not high-end brands — were selling well, said manager Ron Misrack.

Graphic shows recent trends in holiday shopping on Black Friday at retail outlets;

(AP)

"People seem to be going to promotional items," Misrack said. "If you look at our books, you can see the specials, and people seem to be going for those items."

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Confidence at Historic Low As Holidays Approach

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AP Business Writers John Porretto in Houston and David Fischer in Miami and AP Retail Writer Ashley M. Heher contributed in Chicago contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS SUBS graf 3 to correct to midnight on Thursday. AP Video.)

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