As the economic crisis still having visible effects it is normal for people to focus more on spending their money on things they really need, like food and clothes and according to a report on consumer spending, released by Change Wave Research, this holiday season will be one of the worst spending environments in years.

People are focusing more on small gifts and do not incline towards buying anything expensive or pretentious. On the other hand, it’s not all bad news, especially if you are Apple and Dell. The two companies have been in the top of consumers’ preferences, making them the possible winners in the sales of this winter holiday season.

The reported consisted of approximately 3,699 consumers surveyed about their shopping preferences. The results showed that currently the market is suffering from a severe breakdown in consumer spending, which can have some pretty serious economic consequences.

This year only 8% of the people surveyed were planning to buy a laptop, in comparison with last year’s 11%. The survey showed that only 6% of the people questioned were planning on buying a desktop machine, the number being lower than last year with 2%. It seems that out from the few people actually intending on buying laptops and desktop machines, most of them opted for Apple of Dell.

Apple was in people’s top preferences in laptops, as the new MacBooks look really good with their new aluminum cases. Dell has also been on the lips of the people interviewed, as most of them are planning on purchasing a Dell desktop machine.