(WWJ) How much are you spending on holiday gift giving this year? If you're like many Michiganders it may be more than last year.
Meagan Holland with the Michigan Retailers Association says she expects sales in the state to be up 3.8% over last year.
Shoppers are in good financial shape right now, Holland said, and it will show at the cash register.
Challenges remain for a successful holiday shopping season, though.
"There's uncertainty about trade talks and of course there's a lot of rhetoric right now that makes people nervous and also we are in an economic cycle and we've been on an up for a long, long time. We are seeing signs of an economic slowdown."
Holland says they don't know yet what affect the GM strike will have on holiday sales.
Overall, the average person will spend $1,047 on the holidays. Nationwide, we're expected to spend $730 billion. If that number holds true, it would break the record for the most spent during a holiday season.
Last year, $701 billion was spent.
As part of those trends, prices may be higher than we've paid in the past for gifts, according to USA Today. They reported "rising prices might not put too much of a damper on things, though, given that consumers are feeling relatively good about the overall state of the economy."
"There are probably very few precedents for this uncertain macroeconomic environment," NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a press release. "There are many moving parts and lots of distractions that make predictions difficult. There is significant economic unease, but current economic data and the recent momentum of the economy show that we can expect a much stronger holiday season than last year."
