Crowds were thin at U.S. stores and shopping malls in the early hours of Black Friday and on Thanksgiving evening as shoppers responded to early holiday discounts with caution and as bad weather hurt the turnout. The top retail percentage decliner was Urban Outfitters (URBN) with a 2.7 percent drop, followed by a 2.5 percent drop for Gap Inc (GPS). Signet Jewelers (SIG), fell 1.7 percent, as did Men's Wearhouse (MW). DSW Inc (DSW), Tiffany & Co (TIF) and Best Buy Co (BBY) all fell more than 1 percent. Big retailers Wal-Mart (WMT), J.C. Penney (JCP) and online retail giant Amazon.com (AMZN) fell less than 1 percent while the Dow Jones U.S. General Retailers index fell 0.15 percent. Thanksgiving kicks off the crucial November and December shopping season, during which retailers make between 20 percent and 40 percent of annual sales. Black Friday has started not very optimistic, so I am going to short Market Vectors Retail ETF (RTH).