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Holiday Shoppers Pack The Malls

MIAMI (CBS4) - Just one week before Christmas and the malls across South Florida are packed with last minute shoppers. At Dolphin Mall in West Miami Dade Kyle Kleinman is scanning the stores for his gifts.

"You have to come with a state of mind that I'm doing shopping," said Kleinman. "It's gonna be packed because it's the holidays. So it is what it is."

After years of economic uncertainty, analysts say consumers are now starting to give into pent up demand.

"Last year there was a much greater sense of doom and gloom than we are seeing this year," said Scott Krugman, V.P., National Retail Federation.

That consumer optimism could help boost bottom lines. The national retail federation recently revised its holiday sales forecasts upwards from a 2.3% increase over last year to 3.3%.

However consumer caution remains as most people will avoid using credit cards. Experts say the majority of shoppers will use cash or debit cards to make their purchases.

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