Malls throughout New Jersey are jam packed with people scrambling to get their shopping done. News 12 New Jersey went to the Freehold Raceway Mall this Thursday afternoon to check out the volume and found lots of crowds.

The parking lot was full and people seemed to be lining up at the registers. The store manager of Pandora told News 12 New Jersey that sales have been steadily increasing since Black Friday, with the average customer spending between $500 and $1000. "It's a good holiday season, it's been really good," she said. Many people were seen leaving the mall with lots of bags.

The National Retail Federation says it now expects holiday sales to rise 3.8 percent this year from last year. That's up a point from what it had predicted back in October.