[November 21, 2009] Personal checks becoming currency of holidays past Tweet Nov 21, 2009 (The Dallas Morning News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Don't be surprised while shopping this season to find that some stores no longer accept checks. Diesel, True Religion, Ed Hardy and Lululemon Athletica are among a growing list of stores that don't accept personal checks. Gap Inc. has tested the idea. Austin-based Whole Foods Market is trying it out at a few stores in California and Arizona. The organic grocer hasn't come to any conclusions yet, a spokeswoman said. Check fraud is a costly problem for the retail industry, and stores just don't see many shoppers pulling out a checkbook anymore. Only 4 percent of consumers say they'll be writing checks to pay for purchases this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation's 2009 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey conducted by BIGresearch. Generational differences really show up, with a minuscule 0.3 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds and 1.4 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds saying they'll write checks. You guessed it. The numbers rise with age, peaking at 9.8 percent of shoppers 65 and older. How are people paying? One in four will pay with cash. More than 42 percent will use debit cards; 28.3 percent will put their purchases on credit cards. Only 0.3 percent plan to use gift cards, according to the NRF survey. In October, the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank stopped processing paper checks at its Uptown facility. As recently as 2006, it had several hundred employees working in that division. Dozens of Fed Bank check-processing facilities across the country have closed in the last five years. Paper checks are now processed only at the Cleveland Fed and by private companies such as big commercial banks. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is aggressively integrating its stores and Web site this year. On Black Friday, many shoppers will be able to stay in their pajamas. Some Black Friday in-store specials are going to be available this year online at Walmart.com. Walmart.com is charging 97 cents for home delivery of any consumer electronics item, whether it's a 50-inch TV or a pocket camera. (Site-to-store orders are still free.) And the Web site will have about 50 online-only specials on the day after Thanksgiving. Raul Vazquez, president and chief executive of Walmart.com, said the company's online business is in the "multiple billions of dollars" and is growing at a rate faster than Amazon.com's 20 percent annual increase. Wal-Mart won't break out its dot-com business, but it's safe to say it's less than Amazon.com's $19 billion last year. Last year, some shoppers noticed that an item was priced lower online than in Walmart stores. That's because the online store has staff dedicated to searching the Internet, independently lowering prices when necessary. "Walmart.com is applying the same playbook that worked in stores," Vazquez said. Build-A-Bear Workshop's inventive holiday campaign is integrating its stores and interactive Web site with a new movie to try to lift sales that are down 15 percent so far this year. The make-your-own- stuffed-animal store cleverly announced it had merged with Santa's Workshop to carry the theme into its stores. Cardboard elves positioned around the store talk back once activated by secret messages. Children get free virtual gifts to use at buildabearville.com. Next week, it will broadcast a one-hour movie based on brother and sister characters Holly and Hal Moose. The moose debuted in the chain's first book published last year. Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure will air on ABC Family at 6 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Nov. 28. (The retailer has invited some of its customers in eight cities, including Dallas, for a theater sneak peek today.) Build-A-Bear is hoping the special will become a new holiday family classic. The St. Louis-based chain's average customer is a 10-year-old girl who spends $35. Video game consoles have been treated by many households as a family gift -- a giant stocking stuffer, if you will. Here's something similar that you probably don't have yet. Blockbuster Inc. is selling Yoostar Interactive Home Entertainment System for $169.99, beginning Dec. 5. Yoostar makes you the star of famous movie and television scenes. It comes with a Web cam, portable green screen with stand, remote control and a dozen scenes, with hundreds of others available for download. To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]