NEW YORK (AP) -- Sales for the 2024 holiday shopping season turned out to be robust and better than expected, as easing inflation on merchandise drove shoppers to buy, according to the nation's largest retail trade group.

Holiday sales in November and December rose 4% to $994.1 billion compared with the previous year, according to the National Retail Federation, the largest retail trade group in the U.S. For the holiday period in 2023, sales increased 3.9% compared with the previous two-month period. The holiday sales growth was above the group's expectations for a 2.5% to 3.5% increase for the period.

The figure was also higher than the average annual holiday increase of 3.6% from 2010 to 2019 before the pandemic supercharged consumer spending.

"Consumers came out to spend this holiday season and clearly underscored the solid growth in the U.S. economy," the trade group's chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a statement. "The spending pace was back to pre-pandemic growth and indicates a good start for the year ahead."

Analysts were concerned about the compressed season -- there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. But Kleinhenz said the truncated period influenced the continued trend of more online shopping. He also noted a return to shopping in physical stores and a focus on early buying. But Kleinhenz cautioned that even though consumers are still relatively healthy, they remain budget-conscious.

The National Retail Federation's calculations are based on Census Bureau data but excludes automobile dealers, gas stations, and restaurants.