Study says more consumers cutting back on holiday spending this year

NEW YORK The majority of consumers plan to cut back this holiday season, according to a new survey recently released by Accenture. The questionnaire, posed to 537 shoppers, found that 88 percent stated they will restrict their holiday spending to the same level or less compared to 2007 because of increased food, home energy costs and gas prices.

Some 54 percent of consumers expect to spend at least $100 less than in 2007 and 22 percent plan to spend $250 less than last year.

Additionally, the tempered excitement around Black Friday may also be diminished somewhat, but not because consumers won’t be shopping—rather because they will have finished their holiday shopping prior to Thanksgiving this year. As many as 45 percent expect to have completed the bulk of their shopping before sitting down to their turkey dinners. Only 42 percent plan to make the traditional trek to the mall on Black Friday, compared to 46 percent in past surveys.

And approximately 38 percent said they’d shop late into the season to take advantage of any promotions. But those last-minute deals may not entice consumers to spend more than they had initially budgeted—58 percent of consumers maintained they would remain true to their budget this year—compared to 48 percent in 2007.

Credit will still play a key role in spending, however. Almost 60 percent of consumers are likely to use a credit card this year, and of those, 25 percent will likely carry those debits on their charge cards for more than a month.