holiday spending

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Recession-scarred shoppers are tired of cutting back, and they're ready to give in to their pent up spending impulses, experts say. So after a few years of austerity, this holiday season, many people are going to be splurging a bit more on presents for themselves.

With the economy still on life support, many Americans are planning on tightening their Christmas budgets this year. Not the super rich, however. Families with discretionary incomes of $250,000 and up are planing on boosting their holiday spending by 7% to an average of $2,708, according to a new survey.

The National Retail Federation is forecasting a less cheerful holiday season for America's stores, which means shoppers can expect to scoop up big discounts as retailers work harder to get cash registers ringing. But if you want the hottest gifts, you might want to buy early.

U.S. consumers spent 5% less on consumer electronics during the last holiday season compared to a year earlier, according to a new report from NPD Group. Even at discounted prices, Americans bought fewer flat-screen televisions and desktop computers, as well as lower-end digital cameras and MP3 players, according to the report.

So far this holiday season, U.S. online retail spending is up 12% from a year ago. More people took to the Internet last weekend to finish up their last-minute shopping, according to a ComScore report.

More shoppers are flocking to the Web for the holidays, boosting online retail sales 12% over a year ago. In five weeks ending Dec. 3, Americans spent $17.5 billion on retail items on the Web, up from $15.7 billion in the year-ago period, according to a new report from ComScore.

Rising retail sales are adding to the list of positive economic developments as 2010 winds down. But how important are holiday sales in the larger scheme of things? Investors may be giving too much credit to what turns out to be a tiny sliver of U.S. GDP.

More stores are open on Thanksgiving, traditionally a day when shops have been closed, to get a jump on Black Friday, the most important shopping day of the year. The bargains have drawn some shoppers -- and also some grumbling -- but traffic is nowhere near as busy as retailers expect it to be this weekend.

Despite continued high unemployment rates and other economic concerns, Internet spending this holiday season is expected to rise a whopping 11%.