What's your game plan for holiday shopping in 2009?

At the threshold of the holidays, I can’t help but wonder what consumers are thinking in terms of gift buying this year. And I’m sure I’m not alone. After the recessionary panic and economic uncertainty (not to mention paralyzing snowstorm) that marked the 2008 holiday shopping season, I can only imagine that retailers are wondering the exact same thing.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) may offer some clues in their recently released findings from a joint consumer study with BIGresearch that shows Americans will not be convinced that the recession is over until the unemployment rate decreases, and that the average holiday spending will decrease 3.2 percent from last year.

The NRF goes on to predict that shoppers will be on the lookout for bargains and sales and are more likely to purchase used items as gifts than in previous years.

Other interesting tidbits from the NRF include a shift toward purchasing more practical than frivolous gifts this year. Consumers will be giving more gift cards than last year and an increase in handmade gifts, food and candy is expected. In addition, they report that almost 30 percent of people polled said that they’re less likely to travel this year for the holidays.

Is the data from this study consistent with what you’re feeling as the holidays approach or drastically different from your gift-giving perspective?

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