Consumers expected to spend more this holiday season

The holiday shopping season is less than two week away and it’s set to be a big one.

Consumers are expected to spend $967 on average. That’s according to this year’s annual survey by prosper insights and analytics for the National Retail Federation.

It is a 3.4 percent jump from last year when shoppers said they would spend an average of $935.

National Retail Federation President CEO Matthew Shay cited increased employment and rising incomes for the jump in spending.

The NRF’s holiday spending forecast predicts that November and December retail sales will be between $678.8 billion and $682 billion.

That represents an increase of between 3.6 percent and 4 percent.