ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 29, 1996 TAG: 9611290122
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOST SHOPPERS will spend as much on gifts this season as they did during the last, a poll says.
Most Americans say they will spend as much or more on gifts this Christmas season than in the last few years, according to an Associated Press poll.
``The list hasn't gotten any bigger or smaller,'' said Bill Deverson of Coral Springs, Fla., while looking at a Christmas display in a Manhattan store window.
Like 55 percent of those polled, he said his spending will stay about the same. Fourteen percent say they will spend more. And 29 percent say they will spend less money - a figure that is not unusual and has been as high as 40 percent five years ago.
Some analysts have raised the prospect that the retail economy's all-important holiday season could be choked off by a newfound determination by consumers to pay down their credit cards. The nation's total consumer debt of more than $1 trillion declined recently for the first time in more than three years.
Ana Jordan of New York, window shipping along Fifth Avenue, said her spending would definitely fall this year. ``I have too many debts,'' she said.
But in the poll, 78 percent say they are comfortable they can pay their bills, and 20 percent are uncomfortable - down from 27 percent five years ago.
At that time, financial jitters were high and just 5 percent thought the economy was improving. Now 23 percent think it is getting better and 42 percent think it is holding steady.
Those saying the economy is getting worse rose from 27 percent in 1992, just after President Clinton was first elected, to 32 percent now. Six in 10 of the economic pessimists are women, down from seven in 10 four years ago. Republicans also are more likely to be in this category now, perhaps because Bob Dole stressed economic problems in his GOP campaign.
The poll of 1,010 adults was taken by telephone Nov. 21 to 25 by ICR of Media, Pa. Results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Generally, the poll finds poor people are more pessimistic about the economy and their personal finances. Wealthier people, who may have benefited more from the run-up of the stock market, feel better about the economy.
Overall, 52 percent expect to have more money next year. There has been little change in this sentiment among the youngest adults, but optimism is down a bit among baby boomers. Only 22 percent think they will have less money.
The poll found that even among those who think the economy is getting worse, four in 10 still think their household finances will improve next year.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB