66 million Americans have yet to begin holiday shopping

More than a third (36%) of Americans has yet to begin shopping for holiday gifts, according to Consumer Reports. In fact, at the time of the report with just 3 weeks until Christmas Day, most had more than half of their shopping left to do. And that's despite two-thirds of holiday shoppers being active online or in-store during the Black Friday weekend.

Of those who have begun shopping, more than half (58%) said they had no more than half completed.

According to Consumer Reports, it isn't that shoppers can't decide which purchases to make, it's largely because they are reluctant to part with their hard-earned cash. Eight out of ten (81%) said they are at least somewhat concerned with how much they will spend this holiday season. Of those, 31% said they were very concerned about their spending.

Consumer Reports asked American consumers how they intend to address their spending concerns:

55% said that they will be purchasing less expensive gifts;
46% said that they will be on the look-out for sales and coupons;
38% intend cutting down the number of people on their gift list;
29% have agreed to gift exchanges with family or friends;
23% said they will buy online only when free shipping is available;
21% will make gifts instead of spending money at stores;
19% will limit traveling during the holidays;
16% intend to send greetings cards to less people.

"Despite the concerns, most Americans are reveling in the season. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they are enjoying or "really" enjoying the holidays," writes Tod Marks, Consumer Reports senior editor, in a news release. "Many people said they'd prefer to travel less to holiday destinations, go to fewer parties, spend more time with family and friends, and set aside a little more "me" time to relax."

Tags: consumer survey, ecommerce, holiday 2012 trends, holiday shopping, online shopping, shopper insight, shopping trends