• November 19, 2009

The National Retail Federation says consumers are relying more on cash and less on credit this holiday season, with 24.9% of shoppers planning to use cash for most of their shopping, up from last year's 22.8%.

The NRF survey, conducted with BIGResearch, also found that 42.5% plan to pay primarily with debit or check cards, up 2.5% from last year. And the number of those who plan to rely primarily on credit cards is expected to drop 10.1%, to 28.3%.

The poll also found that most consumers aren't paying much attention to the earlier-than-usual sales and discounts launched by so many retailers: So far, 52.4% say they haven't even begun their holiday shopping, and 21.2% say if they have, they've completed less than one-tenth of their list.--Sarah Mahoney