YONKERS, N.Y., Dec. 18, 2007 -- Consumer Reports is projecting that the last week leading up to the Holidays will be hectic with one-third (35%) of Americans still not having started their holiday shopping. Consumer Reports' latest holiday shopping poll also found that 24 percent of shoppers will not finish until December 23rd or later and 10 percent will push it to Christmas Eve. And five percent of shoppers won't finish up their holiday shopping until after December 25th.

As consumers reach for their wallets to purchase holiday gifts, nearly eight in 10 will pay in cash (79%), followed by credit (45%) and debit cards (40%), Consumer Reports found. Although fewer consumers are using credit cards than last year, those who are using them expect to charge an average of $723 - up from $626 last season.

"Holiday shoppers seem to be more value-conscious this year, and that includes how they plan to pay for their purchases," said Greg Daugherty, executive editor, Consumer Reports. "Many of them do not want to run up credit card debts they would still be paying off next spring."

The Race to Retailers: Spending More to Save on Shipping

Online retailers are expected to benefit from last-minute shopping with more than one quarter (29%) of consumers expecting to make online purchases before the holidays; of those, about a quarter (24%) expect to pay more for expedited delivery. In addition, about four in ten online shoppers anticipate purchasing additional items they did not intend to buy in order to take advantage of free shipping or other promotional discounts.

Similar to last year, the majority of shopping is taking place at mass merchandisers such as Target and Wal-Mart (78%), followed by department stores (60%) and online retailers (42%). Consumers are finding their best deals at the mass merchandisers (53%) and online (32%).

Holiday Spending: Nearly One-Third Will Spend Less

As Consumer Reports predicted in October, this season's shopping has been slower and spending has been down. Three-in-ten consumers anticipate spending less this season and only 16 percent expect to spend more. About half (53%) expect their spending to be unchanged from last year.

Holiday shoppers expect to spend an average of $763 this season. The biggest spenders reside in married households and expect to spend an average of $900 with married men topping the charts: they expect to spend an average of $1,041.

Consistent with last year's findings, 17 percent of consumers will rack up credit card charges of $1,000 or more. The heaviest credit card spending continues to be among married couples ($765), particularly married men ($868) - 23 percent of whom will charge more than $1,000.

Christmas Week: 76% Shopping for Me

The shopping season will not end December 25th, as 43 percent of consumers plan to visit stores the week between Christmas and New Year's. Holiday sales will be the biggest draw for shoppers (86%), especially among married females (93%). More than three-quarters of shoppers (76%) will be shopping for themselves.

Returns are always central to the post-holiday mania: more than one-third (35%) expect to stand in line. Last year 21 percent found themselves returning or exchanging at least one gift. Those most likely to have returns are ages 18-34 (26%) and 35-54 (23%). Only 12 percent of those ages 55+ expect to have returns.

Holiday Hangover: Debt

The holiday season is synonymous with bills. Consumer Reports found that more than half (52%) of consumers paid off last year's holiday credit card debt by the end of January 2007; however, nearly one-third (32%) were still paying off their holiday bills in March or later. The consumers who took the longest to pay off their credit cards were females (36%).

This holiday season nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents plan to retire their holiday debt by the end of January, although 19 percent anticipate they will still be paying off their holiday bills in March or later.

Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll Methodology

The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a telephone survey of a nationally representative probability sample of telephone households. 1,001 interviews were completed among adults aged 18+. Interviewing took place over December 6-9, 2007. The margin of error is +/- 3% points at a 95% confidence level.