Go-go or no-go Christmas?

ByABC News
November 9, 2007, 8:52 PM

— -- Judy Cabrera of Norton, Mass., is cutting way back on Christmas shopping this year because the economy her economy is so tight.

"Gas just went up 20 cents a gallon, again," she says. "Instead of $30 to fill up the tank, it's close to $40. There's only so many numbers of dollars here."

Ronald Perkins of Fort Lauderdale says the economy his economy is just fine, and he and his wife won't change their generous Christmas spending this year. "We're apt to say, 'Let's do a cruise,' as a gift to each other," he says.

For consumers and the retailers who serve them, this may be a Christmas of those who "have" and those who "have less." In a tightening economy, some consumers are hurt more than others. Rising costs for gasoline and food affect people with lower incomes more.

Analysts expect consumers who have more money to spend as much as last year, maybe more. Consumers who have less money will spend less than last year, maybe the same.

"Some consumers just have bigger wallets," says Tom Spencer, a vice president of Claritas, a consumer marketing research firm based in San Diego.

Retailers, too, will be split. Those that serve a larger group of higher-income consumers are likely to prosper. Those that serve more lower-income consumers may be squeezed.

To find out which retailers may be hurt this holiday season, Claritas analyzed consumers by income and shopping habits for USA TODAY. The analysis, focused on shoppers who went to a store, not those who shopped online, found that: