NRF Holiday Survey: 18.4% Plan to Buy Jewelry

Jewelry is high on the list of items holiday shoppers intend to purchase this season, a survey by the National Retail Federation found. According to the report, 18.4 percent of U.S. consumers are planning to buy jewelry.

Jewelry purchases follow some other mainstay items such as clothing (58.4 percent), toys (42.2 percent) and gift cards (54.3 percent). Consumer electronics, food and candy, as well as personal care or beauty items are other gift ideas high on consumers purchasing list.

Shoppers have so-far been slow to hit the stores, which the NRF speculates may be in anticipation of Black Friday sales. Advertisements for upcoming sales have highlighted promotions such as 50 percent off of outerwear or designer apparel for $25.

Shoppers will also be reluctant to use their credit credits this holiday season.

Of the holiday shoppers surveyed, one-fourth, or 24.9 percent, said they will be paying for gifts in cash this year, while 42.5 percent of shoppers plan to pay primarily with debit or check cards. The survey, conducted with BIGresearch, found that 28.3 percent of people intend to use credit this year compared to 31.5 percent a year ago.