The steadily improving conditions of the American economy have given both retailers and consumers more confidence about the upcoming holiday season. However, although customers are planning to spend more on purchases this year, they are still going to be conservative when it comes to buying items and gifts.

According to a recent report by the National Retail Federation (NRF), the average estimated amount each shopper will spend in the upcoming months is $749.51, up from the $740.57 average that was paid in 2011. The economy is still continuing to impact holiday purchases, although fewer Americans are allowing current conditions to have an effect on their shopping. The NRF found that last year, 62.2 percent of customers stated that the economic conditions had an impact on their spending. For this year, that number has dropped to 52.3 percent. NRF executives believe that to save money, Americans will use discounts, coupons and other options to keep their holiday purchases within their budgets.

When it comes to using these deals to cut costs, recent research by Booz & Co. revealed that 73 percent of shoppers expect to find discounts and other offerings to help them save money, reports Chain Store Age.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 10:13 am .