Despite many tighter budgets this past holiday season, new data shows Americans werent afraid to open their wallets.Data shared with ABC News shows spending was up nearly 4% overall, but what really caught my eye was the fact th at foot traffic at thrift stores jumped by 11.7%, according to data firm Placer.ai, as people looked to buy on a budget.Adobe attributed the strong performance to better-than-anticipated discounts, especially for electronics. Discounts also touched an array of products from furniture to appliances to toys.So I reached out to arc Thrift Stores here in Colorado. CEO Lloyd Lewis said he saw that rise here locally and arc Thrift Stores can now help more Coloradans in need because of it. Nonprofit to help more Coloradans in need because increase in holiday spendingWhen we do more through the registers, we can fund [our] chapters more, Lewis said. We have nearly 600 wonderful employees with developmental disabilities that allows us to create more programs for them and hire more people. And we also extend vouchers to people in need and organizations in need. Coloradans are so generous, and their generosity really lets us help a lot of very deserving people across the state.arc Thrift Stores is Colorados largest employer of people with developmental disabilities and one of the largest in the country. ...read more read less