Wealthy shoppers are spending, Macy’s says. It is not clear that this will continue.

Macy’s says affluent consumers are keeping up the pace as the holidays approach.

The parent company of Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury as well as Macy’s said Wednesday that middle- and upper-income families who tend to shop at Macy’s Inc. (M) Spent lightly this fall. Shoppers helped the retailer post a 3% year-over-year increase in comparable store sales, its biggest gain in three years.

Wealthy people have been actively shopping for the holidays, although CEO Tony Spring said it was too early to say whether the momentum would continue through the end of the season.

“Our customer base, which is predominantly middle- to upper-income, remained resilient and engaged in the third quarter,” Spring said, according to a conference call transcript made available by AlphaSense. “We are excited about the start of the fourth quarter.”

Macy’s raised its full-year fiscal year forecast after third-quarter numbers beat expectations. Spring said forecasts assume consumers will be “more choosy” in the fourth quarter, partly because “aspirational” customers may pull back. (The term “aspirational” refers to those who do not have the means to comfortably or routinely shop in a store, but may spend their money there on occasion.)

The company’s upscale Bloomingdale’s posted stronger results than its namesake brand, highlighting what is sometimes called the K-shaped economy. Wealthy customers were feeling comfortable spending, their moods lifted by an upbeat stock market, but a sluggish job market and inflation made others pause. Comparable store sales at Bloomingdale’s were up 9% year over year, Spring said.

Bloomingdale’s seeks to attract “the luxury clientele of the future” by working with more luxury brands, Spring said. “We have continued to expand the range of brands we offer by introducing a number of important brands, including Totême, TWP, Zimmerman, Victoria Beckham, Christian Louboutin and Roger Vivier.”

Spring said customers of the luxury store purchased men’s clothing, jewelry and luxury shoes. He said Macy’s stores also achieved strong sales in men’s clothing, watches, luxury jewelry and handbags.

Macy’s said quarterly revenue fell slightly year over year to $4.7 billion, ahead of analyst estimates of $4.6 billion compiled by Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings totaled $26 million — more than double the $11 million reported a year earlier and well above analysts’ loss of $37 million, according to Visible Alpha.

Macy’s shares fell about 1% on Wednesday. They’re up about 35% so far this year.