More than a third of consumers say they plan to spend less this Christmas.

Todd Hale with Nielsen Company said they surveyed 21-thousand American homes in early September about their plans for holiday spending.

"We wanted to find out exactly how much pain it was going to cause and which retail channels might be impacted the most," Hale said.

Nearly 40% of poor families said they plan to spend less. But Hale said even 30% of wealthy families plan to cut back and most people blame the price of gas.

"Almost 2/3 of consumers, midyear this year, told us they are cutting back some degree or a lot to deal with high gas prices," Hale said. 

He says household goods and necessary clothing like socks and sweaters will probably be popular gifts this year. And the rising prices of goods could lead to a growth in dollar sales at stores that sells this items and overall sales will stay flat or decline.

Grocery stores, dollars stores, and convenience stores are poised to have a better than normal season according to Hale. He says people buying gas cards will drive says at convenience stores.

He says the number of people planning to pull back would probably be even greater if they did the survey today.