More than half of adult cell phone owners used their phones while they were in a store during the 2011 holiday season to seek help with purchasing decisions, the Pew Research Center reported today.

If you received a gift card this holiday season, you should get out and use it now, before it gets buried in a drawer, loses value or expires. According to a recent Consumer Reports poll, about 113 million adults received gift cards last holiday season, and this year 62 percent of adults planned to give them as gifts.

If you’re among the 43 percent of consumers who fail to finish your holiday shopping on time, you’re procrastination might just pay off. Retailers are already polishing their after-holiday offers to keep the cash registers churning.

One in five adults will spend two or more hours dealing with the hassle of returning unwanted holiday gifts this year, according to a recent Consumer Reports poll. And those same people say they will probably spend about an hour just making those returns. If you count yourself among them, you can prep before making that trip to the store, and follow our tips to steer clear of gift-return hassles.

Like many Americans, you may be trying to stay on budget this holiday season, and If so, know that you can find a great bottle of wine at a bargain price, whether you plan on giving a nice wine as a gift, or serving red or white at a holiday gathering.

If you find you have little time between shopping for gifts and prepping your home for the holidays to take the time to whip up a batch of fresh cookies, don't panic, there’s no shortage of ready-made chocolate-chip cookies that can serve as nice last-minute presents as well as holiday treats.

As of earlier this week, one in four people had not begun their holiday shopping, according to the most recent Consumer Reports holiday poll. Those same procrastinators told us that as desperation sets in they’re less inclined to look for bargains. With shoppers in grab-and-go mode, products branded by celebrities may be tempting but from our testing we’ve discovered that some make good gifts and some don’t.

Holiday shoppers in the U.S. spent 15 percent more on online purchases compared to the same time period last year, according to ComScore, a company that tracks Web use: And more Americans are using their personal computers as well as mobile devices to cross items off their holiday shopping lists.

What's the right gift for the person you didn't have time to shop for? According to a new Consumer Reports poll, it's a promise that you'll give the person a gift at some point in the future. That's the choice of 41 percent of deadline-stressed shoppers. Another 31 percent take an easier path: They do nothing.

For all the media reports of crowded malls, long lines, and unbridled spending, our latest Consumer Reports poll shows that 25 percent of us hadn’t yet begun shopping for the holidays as of Dec. 18. The lousy economy is a big reason why. Fifty-four percent of those surveyed blamed their inertia on a lack of money (an excuse cited by only 38 percent of respondents in 2010).

You may think you've bought the perfect gift for everyone on your list, but at least some of your recipients are likely to disagree: Last holiday season, nearly one in seven adults returned a gift within the first two weeks after Christmas. And many shoppers make it harder for them by leaving out gift receipts or failing to look into retail return policies.

The list of activities to enjoy on a tablet computer doesn't include typing a lot on the cramped virtual keyboard. So a separate keyboard makes a great gift for the tablet owner in your life who might type more on the device if the task were easier.

Free Shipping Day is today, and some 2,600 retailers are participating by offering free shipping and delivery by Christmas (in the United States) for online purchases.

Just about every family contains at least one video-game fan—but unless you’re a gamer yourself, they can be tricky to shop for. So to help you decide the right titles to buy for your favorite gamers of any age or skill level, we bought and played the season’s hottest games.

With Christmas just 10 days away and Hanukkah even sooner, it’s no wonder that most of us are feeling harried and distracted. But don’t take leave of your senses. Thieves and scammers celebrate the season by taking advantage of people who don’t have time to give things the usual scrutiny. Here are 12 top holiday ripoffs and advice on how to avoid them from the Better Business Bureau.