Retail sales may have dropped in October for the first time in seven months, but Americans' spending spree is expected to kick back into gear over Thanksgiving weekend during the unofficial holiday shopping kickoff.

The International Council of Shopping Centers' (ICSC) latest Thanksgiving Weekend Intentions survey found that consumers expect to spend a total of $130 billion during the period from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, which is 4% more than they planned to shell out last year.

"Shoppers continue to remain optimistic about the upcoming holiday shopping weekend despite inflation," ICSC President and CEO Tom McGee said. 

"Although economic uncertainty is still weighing on consumers, they’re prioritizing holiday spending during this year’s shopping season and looking to deals and promotions to guide their spending habits," he told FOX Business.

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Ninety percent of survey respondents said they plan to shop over the Black Friday weekend, and 2 in 5 expect to spend more than in 2022. Seven in 10 plan to use promotions to stock up on everyday essentials, and 71% said they plan to research the prices of items they want to buy in advance to get the best deals.

Some 90% of those who plan to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend plan to visit a store either to buy items or pick up an online purchase, and 84% plan to make purchases online. The top way consumers plan to pay is by debit cards (65%), followed by credit cards (49%) and cash (45%). Thirteen percent plan to make purchases using buy-now, pay-later options.

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The survey found that most of the shopping during Thanksgiving weekend will occur on Black Friday, when 80% of consumers plan to make purchases, and Cyber Monday, when 81% say they will shop.

According to a separate survey, consumers are not only planning on spending more this holiday season than last year, they expect to do so over a shorter time.

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Deloitte's 2023 holiday survey found that consumers plan to spend an average of $1,652 over the entirety of the season, surpassing pre-pandemic figures for the first time. Americans also plan to complete their shopping over 5.8 weeks, according to the findings, down from 7.4 weeks pre-COVID.