2010 Holiday Shoppers DO NOT plan to cut back.

Burst Media released the results of its fourth annual holiday season survey covering consumer trends, attitudes and purchasing intentions. Administered in mid-September to 2,600 U.S. online adults aged 18 years or older, the survey found that while consumer pessimism remains relatively high in Q4 2010, a majority of respondents do not plan to cut back on holiday season spending from last year’s levels.

More than one-third (36.0%) of consumers expect to spend the same on holiday gifts this year compared to 2009, 17.4% plan to spend more and 34.6% anticipate spending less. While the number of consumers planning to spend less (2010 vs. 2009) is similar to findings from a Burst Media study conducted last year at this time (2009 vs. 2008), retailers can cheer the fact that at least one-fifth (22.3%) of men and respondents with a household income of $75,000 or more (22.1%) say they’ll spend more this season compared to last year.

Online merchants especially are poised to benefit this holiday season, as more than half (56.5%) of respondents expect to make a gift purchase online this year. One-quarter (26.8%) of consumers who bought online last year for the holidays say they will purchase more online in 2010, and one-half (52.9%) say they will purchase the same amount as they did in 2009. Overall, compared to 2009, consumers – especially men – are feeling more secure this season with their online shopping experiences. The leading issue overall, credit/debit card security, is a top concern for both women (63.1% in 2010 vs. 69.4% in 2009) and men (51.5% in 2010 vs. 58.0% in 2009).

Cold hard cash will make a comeback this holiday season too, as nearly three-in-five (57.3%) consumers overall will use cash, checks or debit cards as the primary means to purchase gifts and entertaining-related products. Only one-fifth (22.7%) say credit cards will be their primary means to purchase holiday items in 2010. One-third (32.4%) of all respondents say they’ll use debit card(s), cash and/or checks more frequently for the 2010 season than they did in 2009 – and men outpace women (35.3% vs. 29.7%, respectively) in this regard.

“Consumers are very mindful of where and how they’ll spend their dollars this holiday season,” said Mark Kaefer, Director of Marketing at Burst Media. “Marketers and advertisers should strategically leverage the use of price and convenience-based incentives – such as exclusive online promotions – to draw a larger share of business. The Internet provides a wealth of targeting and ad units that allow marketers to creatively promote these offerings – and allow marketers to quickly adjust their advertising in response to changing consumer demands or market forces.”

For more information at http://www.burstmedia.com