E-commerce retailers across the board saw an increase in sales last week, making for a profitable month (November sales totals are up 12.3% overall from one year ago), but according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, not all brick-and-mortar retailers were as fortunate.

Luxury, footwear, and apparel retailers all saw decreased sales numbers this month, compared to November 2008. Luxury retailers were the hardest hit, with sales down 7.3%, while footwear, men’s apparel, and women’s apparel saw a 2.0%, 1.9%, and 3.8% drop, respectively.

However, November was a good month for three industry sectors: electronics, jewelry, and appliances. According to research done by MasterCard SpendingPulse, the electronics sector was up 6.6% from 2008, generating $13.27 billion in sales, and the jewelry and appliances sectors were up 4.6% and 3.5%, respectively.

The increase marks a third consecutive month of growth for jewelry retailers, which is promising news for an industry that’s been hit hard by the recession. In today’s Wall Street Journal, a representative from SpendingPulse indicated that this stretch of growth just might be the light at the end of the tunnel for jewelry retailers.

“Retailers sold about $2.1 billion of jewelry in November, which was up over last year, but still less than the $2.4 billion sold two years ago,” said Michael MacNamara, vice president of research and analysis at SpendingPulse. “But it is good evidence that we’ve bottomed.”

For electronics retailers, the 6.6% increase in sales numbers is a great step forward from last year, but results are still nowhere near where they were in 2007, when sales for the sector peaked with a 15.8% increase on the year.

But back to the good news: an article in today’s New York Times reported that according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, Black Friday sales numbers prove misleading. There’s a good chance the reports are underestimating retailers’ overall performance this past month, since many holiday sales started as early as Thanksgiving Day.

An early estimate from the International Council of Shopping Centers predicted November sales for retail stores overall would rise between 4% and 6% from last year, but according to the article in Wall Street Journal, the group now believes the increase will be between 3% and 4%.

The article stated the organization lowered its estimate as a result of the recent surge in electronics and e-commerce sales, neither of which will be reflected in the chain store numbers released tomorrow. Despite the less-optimistic prediction, the trade group still believes the holiday shopping season will be a good one overall.

“Given the greater-than-expected sales momentum over the past few months, I think the holidays will come in better than generally expected,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at International Council of Shopping Centers.