- eMarketer Staff

Consumers' spending intentions look as dismal this holiday season as they did last year.

It looks like thrifty shoppers will be out in force in '09, judging from a survey by Burst Media that measured Internet users' spending plans, eMarketer reports. The largest share of respondents in a September 2009 Burst survey expected to spend roughly the same amount of money on holiday gifts this year as last year. But respondents who intended to spend less outnumbered those who planned to increase their spending.

 

The survey also found that a higher percentage of women than men planned to reduce spending this year. One reason for the disparity is that women do most of the family purchasing and continually look for opportunities to save money.

Men, on the other hand, are more likely to be making occasional purchases of big-ticket discretionary items, such as HDTVs. Getting good value for money may be a factor in such purchases, but reducing one's spending is not.

See also: "With Social Media, Who Needs Santa?"