30% plan to cut holiday spending

The recession may be over, but people are still shopping with an eye on savings.

About 30 percent of U.S. adults want to cut their holiday budgets this year, according to an October poll by Consumer Reports. That extends years of cutbacks. The 2008 holiday shopping season was the worst in decades, and 2009 was only slightly better. Last year, roughly a similar number of shoppers — 33 percent — said they were expecting to spend less.

The poll also suggested that shoppers would remain intent on finding discounts and deals in November and December, which could hurt prices.

But there were some good tidings for retailers in the survey. The gap between people who want to trim their budgets and people who say they want to spend more is shrinking: 19 percent of shoppers say they’re inclined to spend more this season, up from 16 percent in late 2009.

No matter what shoppers say about budgets, they tend to spend more than they had planned. Last December, respondents said they would drop $699, on average, on presents. A month later they said they had actually spent an average of $811.

Consumer Reports polled 1,010 U.S. adults over the telephone Oct. 14-18. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

TOTAL RECALL

Daimler AG said it will recall about 2,300 Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicles and sedans to fix fuel filters that could leak diesel fuel. The recall covers certain diesel versions of the 2011 E Class sedan and 2011 GL Class, M Class and R Class SUVs and crossover vehicles. The vehicles included in the recall were built from November 2009 through October. The automaker said a lack of lubrication in the diesel engine fuel filters could cause the filters to leak. Fuel could leak onto the road, causing slippery conditions and a potential crash. Owners will be notified later this month. Dealers will replace the fuel filter free of charge.