EXCLUSIVE: U.S. consumers worried, waiting to shop for holidays

(Reuters 12/08/09) - More U.S. consumers say job concerns are causing them to spend less on the holidays this year and the majority are still waiting for big discounts to finish their Christmas shopping, a new survey said.

Thirty-eight percent of the people surveyed by America’s Research Group said that concerns about keeping or getting a job were causing them to spend less this holiday season.

That compares with about 26 percent of people who said a year ago that job concerns were causing them to spend less on holiday shopping, said Britt Beemer, founder of America’s Research Group, a consumer research and marketing firm.

…

Consumers are holding out for big deals, as 58 percent said they are waiting for larger discounts later in the season to finish their holiday shopping.

With Christmas on a Friday this year, those consumers may wait until even after the Saturday before Christmas, putting a crimp in what is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days before the holiday.

…

Consumers also continued to pay with cash this year. Only 23 percent of the 796 consumers who shopped over the weekend said they used credit cards to pay, down from 33 percent a year earlier.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B62R620091207

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