Procrastinating is out this year when it comes to holiday shopping, with 62 percent of consumers surveyed planning to finish their gift buying on or before Dec. 16, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Shoppers in the United States plan on spending an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11-percent increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture's annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.