The number of shoppers who say they expect to spend less this holiday season has fallen 10 percentage points from this time last year, according to early data from the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor. The news, coupled with increased spending intentions on the part of younger and more affluent consumers, may signal happier holidays for retailers this season.

Last November, 65 percent of consumers said they were going to spend less on holiday gifts than they did the year before. This year only 55 percent feel that way. Of the 10 percent who shifted, the majority said they would spend about the same, but one in four said they would be spending more this year.

The Monitor also reported that both young shoppers and people in higher income brackets may be willing to open their wallets a little more this year. More than 14 percent of consumers, ages 18-39, are looking to spend more than they did a year ago, up from 11 percent in November 2009. Similarly, there was an increase – from 9 percent in 2009 to 12 percent this year – in the number of consumers with incomes over $75,000 who said they expect to spend more in 2010.

Consumers aren’t quite ready to rack up holiday spending increases on par with what the Monitor reported in 2007, before the recession. One in five expected to spend more on holiday gifts than the previous year. This year, only 10 percent are looking to spend more in 2010 than they did in 2009. Nonetheless, that’s up from 7 percent the year before and represents the first time since 2007 that the numbers have reached double digits.