A retail survey buy Deloitte and Touche found that the majority of
consumers were not going to let the credit crisis get in the way of their
Christmas.

But they predicted a seven percent drop in sales and spending to come to a
standstill in January with many retail casualties.

And Delloitte's 14th Christmas Retail Survey found that, supermarkets are
this year's winners.

It's Christmas as usual in the UK.

Delloitte's 14th Christmas Retail Survey found two thirds of shoppers will
spend the same if not more than last year, though spending is expected to fall
around seven percent

Sky high commodity prices throughout the year have squeeezed businesses and
customers alike, and Delloitte's Tarlok Teji said therefore October's retail
figures, which were the lowest in three years, aren't suprising.

But that's not how people are going to behave at Christmas. People do
behave differently over Christmas, and Christmas is going to come later. We've
got a whole weekend and three more days, so spending isn't really going to
start until December."

But consumers are spending more sensibly.

In fact, the survey found that staying in is the new going out - with
people more likely to entertain at home...

Which makes supermarkets this year's big winners.

"Yet this year it's a very strong resurgence coming back to
supermarkets. I think it's because the grocery sector and the supermarkets in
particular have been very quick to respond to the change in demands from
consumers."

But City Index analyst Tom Hougaard find's Delloitte's findings hard to
believe.

"I find that highly unlikely, everyone is reading about job losses and
I believe as a result of this many people will be scaling back Christmas
purchases simply just out of fear that they are going to be the
next."

But Teji argues that the survey reflects the voice of the consumer and its
results have always been reliable.

"I'm pretty confident that Christmas has not been cancelled. It's
certainly in my callender and Tom will have it in his calender on the 25th of
December."

However, the festivities come grinding to a halt in January, when Teji
expects spending to stop altogether, with many retail casualties as a
result.

Stefanie McIntyre, Reuters