With one exception, several promising holiday forecasts were released last week.

The National Retail Federation said the despite a turbulent start to 2014, it expects retail sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales) to increase a healthy 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion, higher than 2013s actual 3.1 percent increase during that same time frame.

Holiday sales on average have grown 2.9 percent over the past 10 years, including 2014s estimates, and are expected to represent approximately 19.2 percent of the retail industrys annual sales of $3.2 trillion. This would mark the first time since 2011 that holiday sales would increase more than 4 percent. Online holiday sales forecast over the two months is projected to grow between 8-11 percent over last holiday season to as much as $105 billion.

Retailers could see a welcome boost in holiday shopping, giving some companies the shot in the arm they need after a volatile first half of the year and an uneventful summer, said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. While expectations for sales growth are upbeat, it goes without saying there still remains some uneasiness and anxiety among consumers when it comes to their purchase decisions. The lagging economic recovery, though improving, is still top of mind for many Americans.

Recognizing the need to keep household budgets in line, we expect shoppers will be extremely price sensitive as they have been for quite some time. Retailers will respond by differentiating themselves and touting price, value and exclusivity, continued Shay.

The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) similarly forecast a 4.0 percent increase in sales during the November-December holiday shopping period, the strongest gain in three years. A significant rebound in the U.S. labor market since last spring, along with decreasing unemployment rates and year-over-year gains in personal income, all bode well for consumers and point to a likely solid increase in holiday spending. Also, despite a setback in September, consumer confidence in the U.S. remains considerably higher than during the same time last year.

While consumers are expected to remain focused on price this holiday, the positive momentum of key economic indicators are pointing to consumers who are willing to open their wallets and hit the stores this holiday, said Jesse Tron, spokesperson for ICSC.

Accentures annual holiday shopping survey found that one-quarter (25 percent) of U.S. consumers plans to spend more on holiday shopping this year compared to 20 percent in 2013. Two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) said they are likely to shop on Black Friday, compared to 55 percent who planned to do so in 2013 and 44 percent who said the same back in 2007. In addition, 37 percent plan to shop online during that period using a desktop, mobile device or tablet, which is up from 32 percent in 2013.

The Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey found that of those consumers planning to spend more this year, 28 percent said they have more discretionary income and 22 percent noted that they have greater job security, up from 15 percent in 2013. However, the survey did find that nearly all respondents (96 percent versus 94 percent in 2013) said that discounts will be important to their purchasing decisions.

A contrarian note came from the 2014 Holiday Outlook, from PwC US and Strategy&, which projected an average household spend of $684 this year, down from $735 in 2013. It blamed the projected decline on shoppers remaining cautious on the economy and concerns about disposable income, the rising cost of living, and insufficient salary. Said Steven Barr, PwC’s U.S. retail & consumer practice leader. “The spending divide among shoppers is widening, creating two distinct groups that we are tracking-survivalists and selectionists-and retailers must cater to both segments. And with shoppers coming to expect a seamless omnichannel experience, deals to woo them into stores and having no tolerance for another season of data privacy invasion, it’s a complex retail landscape that retailers need to master-or they risk losing loyal shoppers.”