BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart is toning down its rosy expectations for the holiday shopping season.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is cutting its projected sales increase for November by more than half, an ominous announcement for retailers as their busiest time of year begins.

The retailer cites weaker-than-expected holiday shopping.

The world's biggest retailer estimates November sales at U.S. stores open at least a year will be 0.7 percent higher than last year's.

That's down drastically from the 2-to-4 percent hike the company predicted last week.

In a statement on its Web site, Wal-Mart said the new projection is based on four weeks of sales from Oct.30 through Friday.

"Sales fell below plan this past week, which impacted the results of our November forecast," the statement said. "Keep in mind that this past week was the largest week of the reporting period."

Wal-Mart said bedding, food and pet supplies were its strongest sales categories.

"For the day after Thanksgiving, strength in blitz items included digital cameras, the TV-DVD combo, learning toys and video games," the company said.

Sales for the week were strongest in the Southeast and the West, according to the statement.