Alina Selyuk

Much of the spending comes from wealthier shoppers, while others are trying to tighten budgets.

In fact, lower-cost stores like Walmart and T.J.

Maxx say they're seeing more higher-income visitors.

But people are also choosing to trade up, deciding that a better deal on something costly is to get the fancier version.

Both Home Depot and Best Buy say that when they do sell big-ticket items, a growing share of them are the most expensive option.

Alina Seljuk, NPR News.

The federal data on retail sales is behind by more than a month, and it's showing consumers cooling off a bit in September as they continue to go out to shop and eat compared to September of last year.

Spending at stores and restaurants grew 4.3 percent, with people shopping more for clothes and electronics.

in the tail end of the back-to-school season, and they went out to restaurants and bars.

All this lines up with a slew of positive sales reports from major retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

The industry is now predicting another record holiday season, counting on the fact that people generally are employed.

and wages are still growing faster than inflation.

Alina Selyuk, NPR News, Washington.

Walmart has drawn more higher-income shoppers over the past year and continued to do so in the latest quarter.

Executives say they're seeing lower-income shoppers pull back a bit more, while middle-income spending is steady.

Overall, Walmart sales grew 4.5% between August and October, with the holiday season described as off to a strong start.

Executives say the company has had to raise some prices because of tariffs, especially on electronics, but generally the impact has been less than many expected.

Walmart also announced it's moving its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq to reflect its growing digital operations.

Nasdaq tends to have more tech companies and has rivals Amazon and Costco.

Alina Seluk, NPR News, Washington.