A new Reuters polls says that shoppers will be cutting back on gift-buying this holiday season due to, you know, being broke. The poll found that there are six times as many shoppers planning to cut back than there are consumers who are planning to spend more than last year. The pollster in charge called these results “staggeringly bad.”

From Reuters:

“This a staggeringly bad number,” said pollster John Zogby, referring to the number of people who said they would spend the same amount on gifts this year. He noted that with inflation, even flat sales means retailers won’t be making as much.

“You’re still going to have people standing in line at three in the morning at Wal-Mart, but the lines may be thinner this year” on Black Friday, he said, referring to the day after Thanksgiving in late November that kicks off the holiday sales season with a barrage of promotions.

Oh well. You’d have shot your eye out anyway.

Shoppers to cut back holiday gifts [Reuters]

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