That doesn't mean Philly shoppers are cheap, assures TaraWeiner, vice chairman and national managing partner of Deloitte& Touche USA. Weiner unveiled the Philadelphia-area findings ofDeloitte's annual outlook on holiday consumer spending at a jointpress conference here with the Greater Philadelphia Chamber ofCommerce.

She attributed the discrepancy between shoppers here and othermajor US cities to "cost of living differentials." Higherexpenditures by residents of Chicago, Dallas, New York and SouthernCalifornia, she said, can be attributed to the higher salaries,real estate costs and other expenses in those cities. Shoppershere, however, will likely outspend residents of Seattle, Denverand the San Francisco Bay area, Weiner reported, noting that the"tech bust" in some Western metropolitan areas have left consumerscautious. The Deloitte Philadelphia data encompasses a broad areaof Western Pennsylvania, which includes Harrisburg, Allentown andthe entire Lehigh Valley.

Here as elsewhere, gift cards rank high on holiday shoppinglists. Weiner said, on average, Philly shoppers will match theanticipated national average and purchase five gift cards thisseason. For the first time since their inception, gift cards willreplace apparel as the gift purchase of choice, according toWeiner.