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A lot of the green that will decorate stores during the upcoming holidays will be cash. And that is good news for the ATM industry.

Some 25.7 percent of shoppers will purchase gifts with cash compared with 24.9 percent last year, said Kathy Grannis, spokesperson for the National Retail Federation (NRF). The Washington, D.C.–based trade association arrived at its conclusion after BIGresearch surveyed 8,778 consumers November 3-9.

"Of the 8,778 consumers surveyed, nearly 26 percent will pay with cash," Grannis said. She added that there has been incremental growth in the use of cash for holiday shopping since 2007 when the housing market began to show the first signs of crashing.

Mike Lee, CEO of the ATM Industry Association, agrees with NRF's findings.

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"Mike Duke, CEO of Walmart, commented during the recession that the world's biggest store was seeing more cash in its tills," Lee said. "This trend is unlikely to go into reverse during the upcoming festive season. After all, cash is a great household budgeting tool—you can only spend what you've got. In addition, using cash for payments is a fee-free transaction."

The average consumer is expected to spend $688 to purchase presents this year, using all available payment methods, Grannis said.

BIGresearch also found that more than four out of 10 (43.0 percent) holiday shoppers will rely on debit cards as a primary form of payment, a 20 percent increase from 2005’s 34.3 percent. On the other hand, consumers are saying "bah humbug" to credit cards.

Slightly more than a quarter (27.6 percent) of shoppers will charge their gifts — the lowest since 2002’s 26.8 percent. "Many families may choose to leave credit cards at home as they shop this year, making sure to only purchase what’s on their list and within their budget," said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. "A variety of promotions ranging from free shipping to one-day sales will make it easier for shoppers to afford the perfect gift for their loved ones this holiday season."
 
Early Black Friday sales and special holiday offers seem to have already made an impact on shoppers this year with 10.5 percent of consumers saying they’ve completed at least half of their shopping, compared to 9.2 percent at this time last year. That said, slightly more than half of Americans (51.1 percent) have yet to begin their shopping.
 
As expected, basics and necessities will take a back seat to discretionary items, with jewelry and gift cards high on people’s shopping lists this year. According to the survey, 20.3 percent of holiday gift givers say they will buy jewelry, up from 18.4 percent last year. This correlates with NRF’s first holiday survey, which found that more people would request jewelry this year (23.0 percent vs. 20.8 percent in 2009). Other popular gifts will include clothing or clothing accessories (58.5 percent); gift cards (55.1 percent); books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games (52.8 percent); toys (41.9 percent) and food or candy (28.8 percent).
 
"After years of practicality, Americans are slowly getting back into the spirit of giving gifts their family and friends may not buy themselves," said Phil Rist, executive vice president, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. "Many people will make a list and check it twice, but the fun of buying someone a gift they’ve had their eye on all year never gets old."