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MarketWatch First Take

Dec. 2, 2010, 12:20 p.m. EST

By MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Call it frugal fatigue, the new normal or a light at the end of the tunnel.

Shoppers are back.

Sales for the first month of the crucial holiday shopping season were robust, with 76% of retailers that reported results beating Wall Street estimates, according to Thomson Reuters. Read “Early holiday cheer lifts November sales.”

Earlier Black Friday-style promotions helped, giving consumers a reason to hit the pre-holiday sales. Black Friday itself, the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season, was seen as extremely successful, even if much of the traffic was discount-driven.

Results from retailers as varied as Macy’s Inc (M 25.55, -0.25, -0.97%) , Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF 56.06, +5.62, +11.14%) , Limited Brands Inc.  (LTD 34.84, +0.20, +0.59%) , J.C. Penney Co. (JCP 34.48, +0.78, +2.32%) , Costco Wholesale Corp (COST 69.05, +0.74, +1.08%)  and Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ 30.18, -1.39, -4.40%)  blew away expectations.

But this news came as the Labor Department said that initial unemployment claims rose to 436,000, up 26,000, in the week of Nov. 27.

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/conga/story/2010/12/trading-strategies.html 114448

And a law that extended unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks is expiring, making the holidays very unhappy for many families. Read more about jobless claims.

“Shoppers have been shaking off their recent cautiousness about spending, and any last doubts may have been removed by all the great deals that came early and often in November,” said Frank Badillo, senior economist with Kantar Retail. “The rest of the holiday looks positive given shoppers’ spending plans, but they will no doubt be looking for more big promotions to sustain this kind of spending pace.”

Retailers surely want consumers to keep the momentum going, and shaking off the spending shackles of the past few years can feel like a relief. But with jobs still scarce and the economy still fragile, it might be better for consumers to keep up their careful ways.