We notice you are visiting from a U.S. Internet provider. 
31/10/2011 -
While consumers are expected to spend in droves this holiday season, the jury is out on exactly how much. A recent Accenture survey found roughly 88 percent of consumers plan to either match or exceed their shopping volumes from last year.However, the economy has shown a significant slowdown in that time, and may yet fall back into a recession. With that in mind, a new study from Consumer Reports shows Americans' biggest concern entering the holidays is the state of the economy.
"Our poll - the first in a series of holiday polls designed to capture the mood, outlook, and spending habits of consumers nationwide - suggests that relentless chatter about tough times is taking its toll on shoppers' psyche, putting a slight damper on their holiday cheer, how much they buy and how they pay for it," Consumer Reports points out.
The important thing for businesses to do is to focus their marketing and retail priorities to take advantage of the almost certain surge in retail activity. For example, recent developments in payment technology may make this season the first for substantial mobile payment and banking activity. Retailers should integrate their payment systems to include a variety of options.
