Only 26% of consumers who shopped over the Thanksgiving 2009 holiday weekend said they used credit cards for their purchases, while 39% said they used cash, and the remaining used debit cards, according to a poll conducted by America's Research Group for Reuters.

"This is an amazing shift in consumers' habits," Britt Beemer, founder of America's Research Group, is quoted by Reuters as saying. "Consumers shunning credit cards is a bad sign for retailers, since people who buy gifts with credit cards tend to spend anywhere from 20–40% more on the gift."

Meanwhile, only 25.7% of consumers who had planned to shop during the weekend decided not to make purchases—more encouraging than the 37% share reported in 2008 and 38% in 2007.

Shoppers were asked how they found store prices over the Thanksgiving 2009 holiday weekend:

• Almost 50% said prices were about what they expected.
• 29% said prices were higher than expected.
• 21% said prices were lower than expected.

About the data: The survey of 680 people was conducted by America's Research Group for Reuters.