Find gift bargains via search engine

By Linda Stern

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most consumers plan to spend dramatically less this holiday season than they did last year or the year before. Shoppers say they will average $431 for gifts, down from $859 last year, according to the American Research Group. Planned spending is at its lowest level since 1991.

But cutting back is often easier said than done. Gifts cost way more today than they did in 1991, and the kids and their wish lists haven't gotten any smaller.

Some savings tactics are obvious: Families can do the pull-the-name-out-of-a-hat exchange instead of everybody buying for everybody. Homemade food items can suffice for drop-in visits and teacher gifts.

But sometimes, you've just gotta shop. Do it right, especially with the sales and shoppers search engines available now, and you can come in under budget. Here's the best of the crop. Happy Holiday!

-- Compare prices online before you head to a store. Web sites like PriceGrabber.com, Shopzilla.com and Dealnews.com will show you lowest prices for the items you want. Once you're in the mall, you can still comparison shop with your cellphone. Check out frucall.com, which lets you compare prices by phone. Then bring coupons with you. Find them at sites like coolsavings.com and retailmenot.com.

-- Got a favorite store? Go to its website, too. Many offer coupons, cellphone sales alerts and more. If you aren't sure what your favorite store is, until you see what kinds of deals they are all offering, check out istorez.com, which lists sales, coupons and promotions by retailer.

-- Shop the discount stores. Retailers like Loehmann's, TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Tuesday Morning are getting more inventory than usual, because the high-end retailers have been trimming their own. You may find better-than-usual deals on high-end items like cashmere sweaters or designer duds.

-- Be shipping savvy. Some 45 percent of online shoppers say they'll never pay for shipping, according to PriceGrabber.com. But they may be paying too much for the products they are shipping free. Better to compare post-shipping prices. Start by checking freeshipping.org and mybargainbuddy.com to find lists of stores that will ship free, but compare those prices to after-shipping sales on the price comparison sites.