Holiday shoppers took advantage of deep discounting and early sales to lift retail spending in November, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said today. Not including automobiles, gasoline stations or restaurants, retail sales increased 0.6% seasonally adjusted over October and 3.2% unadjusted over November 2013. Gains were consistent with NRF’s holiday sales forecast, which anticipates an increase of 4.1% over last year.

“As we’ve said all along, retailers are optimistic that they will see healthy holiday sales gains this year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “November sales results confirm that optimism, and we are steadfast in our belief that we are on track to reach the 4.1% growth in holiday sales that NRF forecasted in October.”

“Consumer trends show that the shopping experience continues to evolve for both retailers and consumers,” Shay said. “Shoppers this holiday season are seizing opportunities to take advantage of early promotions and showing signs they may wait until the end of the season when promotions are even greater.”

“It is important to remember that for most retailers, the holiday season is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are plenty of important holiday shopping days ahead of us, including the week leading up to Super Saturday—the day many expect will be the biggest shopping day of the season,” Shay said.

NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz looks for a strong end-of-year sales report from retailers.

“Increasing wages combined with lower gas prices are providing retailers with an early holiday present this year,” Kleinhenz said. “Every economic indicator is pointing toward a strong holiday season. Healthy November sales should provide momentum for an even stronger December as customers continue to seek out deals all the way to Christmas.”

All retail categories witnessed a monthly increase in sales, including clothing and clothing accessories stores, electronics and appliance stores and non-store retailers. Additionally, NRF’s analysis found that book & music, hobby and sporting goods stores were also up 0.3% month-to-month and 1.3% year-over-year.

The Department of Commerce also reported U.S. retail and food services sales for November were up 0.7% to $449.3 billion from the previous month.

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