Consumers nationwide are showing signs of scaling back their holiday shopping plans this year, according to a new survey from MasterCard Advisors.

In its mid-season update on the shopping season, MasterCard focused on sales figures involving e-Commerce, apparel, luxury items and electronics.

The report showed that e-Commerce had actually gone up by 10.4 percent the week after Thanksgiving, compared to last year, with a decline of 4.8 percent the week after.

Still, that decline was modest compared to the other shopping figures reported by MasterCard. For example, sales of women's apparel were down 21.3 percent since last year, compared to a 16.1 percent decline for men.

Electronic sales fell by 25 percent since 2007, and luxury items were especially down, with a 33 percent drop the week after Black Friday and with a 27.8 percent drop the first week of December.

In a separate report, the Associated Press cited new figures from ShopperTrak indicating that overall holiday sales are down 1.8 percent this year compared to 2007.

Much of this year's decline can be traced to the state of the economy, although many consumers have less access to credit than they did in previous years. For those who lack sufficient cash or credit reserves but still have holiday shopping to finish, one option could be to consider a short-term payday loan.

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