Deloitte Survey Says Texans Plan to Cut Holiday Spending

Texans will spend less, donate more than national average

HOUSTON, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- With the economy weighing heavily on their
minds, many Texans plan to spend less and change the way they shop this
holiday season, according to Deloitte's 23rd Annual Holiday Survey of retail
spending and trends.

A record number of Texans surveyed are pessimistic about the economy. More
than half (53 percent) say they expect the economy to weaken next year,
compared with 36 percent last year. Economic concerns are causing Texas
shoppers to plan to buy less, with 57 percent reporting that they plan to
reduce spending this year.

The survey indicated that Texan shoppers plan to spend slightly less than the
national average this holiday season: $1,252 compared with $1,336 nationwide.
That's down significantly from Texas shoppers' prediction that they would
spend over $1,900 last year.

"It's no secret that retailers face a challenging holiday season," said
Sherrie McAvoy, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP. "In these trying economic
times, consumers appear to be scaling back while still trying to preserve the
tradition of gift giving and the spirit of the holidays."

Why the decrease?

The top reasons Texans gave for their planned decrease in spending included
higher food prices (68 percent of respondents) and higher energy costs (64
percent of respondents), both of which were less than the national average of
73 percent and 69 percent, respectively. Texans also seem to be less affected
by the housing slump than the rest of the country. Only 5 percent of Texas
respondents cited "a decline in the value of my home" as a reason for spending
less this holiday season, compared to 13 percent nationwide.

"The hunt for bargains" changes where and how Texans will shop

According to the survey, Texans also plan to change where and how they shop
this year. Two-thirds of respondents (67 percent) indicated they will look for
gifts at discount and value department stores and 20 percent said they plan to
shop at dollar stores. Those figures are up four percentage points and six
percentage points from last year and are higher than the national averages.

Eight in 10 Texas shoppers plan to buy more items on sale, and six in 10 say
they're likely to buy more lower-priced items.

"Texans are on the hunt for bargains," McAvoy added. "Although overall
spending will be down, retailers that offer low prices or deep discounts will
have an opportunity to grab more than their typical share of business."

Texans are also less likely than the rest of the country to turn to the
Internet for their holiday shopping. Thirty percent of Texas respondents said
they plan to shop online, compared to 35 percent nationwide.

Cash is king

Texans plan to rely less on plastic for their shopping expenditures. Only 28
percent of respondents said they will use credit cards for the majority of
their purchases, compared to the national average of 32 percent. (Similarly,
38 percent of Texas respondents said they didn't use a credit card for holiday
purchases last year, compared with 34 percent nationwide. Texans had the
lowest reported percentage of credit card usage last year among any region.)

Gift cards are #1; Texans' tastes differ from rest of the country

Gift cards top the list of gifts Texans plan to buy, with 63 percent of
respondents indicating they plan to buy at least one. Clothing came in second
with 48 percent of respondents.

In multiple categories, Texans' gift lists differ from the national average by
several percentage points. Texas shoppers are more likely than the rest of the
country to give cosmetics, fragrances, or health and beauty aids (25 percent
vs. 21 percent); more likely to give personal electronics items such as cell
phones, digital cameras or MP3 players (16 percent vs. 12 percent); and less
likely to give gift cards for gasoline (11 percent vs. 17 percent).

Texas-sized hearts

Despite the economic downturn, Texans still have a heart as big as the state
itself. Texas respondents indicated they plan to spend an average of $168 on
charitable donations -- that's down from $214 last year, but still nearly 13
percent higher than the national average of $149.

About the survey

The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent
research company between September 26 and October 7, 2008. The survey polled a
simple of 13,276 U.S. consumers, including 605 in Texas, and has a margin of
error for the entire sample of plus or minus one percentage point.

For more useful information about Deloitte's Annual Holiday Survey, including
interesting statistics, historical data and useful links, please visit
www.deloitte.com/us/2008HolidaySurvey.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and Deloitte Services
LP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a
detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its
subsidiaries.

SOURCE Deloitte

Melissa Norcross, Public Relations, Deloitte, +1-713-982-2391,
mnorcross@deloitte.com