Retail sales, consumer spending, will stores have a healthy holiday shopping season or not?

That's the question that will be batted around economic circles today.

After two weak months, November retail sales bounced back led by auto sales.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.9 percent to after being flat in October. Excluding volatile automobile sales, retail sales rose 0.4 percent after rising a revised 0.4 percent in October. Economists, on average, expected sales to rise 0.7 percent and sales excluding autos to rise 0.3 percent, according to Briefing.com.

On the one hand that seems to reflect greater consumer confidence, a sense of the job market getting less weak, if not better.

On the other hand it shows that people will buy ... but only if they get some kind of discount or special deal. That means the consumer can continue to hold up the economy as long as retailers are willing to accept lean margins.

And it would also seem to argue against demand, consumer-driven inflation as the economy picks up as long as people remain cautious and unwilling to buy stuff when prices are rising, or unless someone gives them a price discount.  

Kathleen Hays anchors CNN Money Morning and The FlipSide, airing Monday to Friday on CNNfn. As part of CNN's Business News team, she is also a regular contributor to Lou Dobbs Tonight.