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More consumers will use credit and debit cards to pay for holiday gifts this year, while the use of cash will decrease slightly, suggest survey results from Consumer Reports. In an annual survey of 1,000 adults, Consumer Reports said that as of Dec. 7, only 56% of consumers had begun their holiday shopping, down from 62% who had at the same point last year and down from 66% who did by that point in 2006. Some 51% of respondents said they plan to use debit cards to pay for gifts this year, up from 40% who said so last year, according to survey, while 50% said they plan to use credit cards to pay for gifts this year, up from 45% who said so last year. Those using credit cards expect to charge an average of $682 on gifts this holiday season. Last year, respondents using credit cards expected to charge $723 for gifts. Respondents have purchased fewer gift cards this year, as 27% said they had purchased at least one gift card. That compares with 34% who had purchased a gift card by Dec. 7 last year. Some 76% of respondents said they will use cash to pay for gifts this year compared with 79% who said so last year. Consistent with last year's survey, respondents expect to purchase an average of 14 gifts this holiday season. Among the 8% of respondents who said they opened a store credit card during last year's holiday shopping season, 46% said they never used that card again, 24% regretted opening the account and 20% said they incurred high finance charges or penalties from the store cards they opened last year. Some 48% of respondents said they feel salespeople try to pressure them to open store credit cards to save money on their purchases. The Yonkers, N.Y.-based nonprofit research organization Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, conducted the telephone survey between Dec. 4 and Dec. 7.
