NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - More than twice as many Americans plan to spend less money this holiday shopping season as those who plan to increase their gift budgets, as consumers curtail spending amid a tenuous economic recovery, according to a published report Thursday.

About 32 percent of Americans expect to spend less this holiday season and only 15 percent plan to spend more, according to the USA Today, citing an unreleased holiday shopping survey by Harris Interactive and commissioned by online retailer Amazon.com.

Of the 1,000 Americans polled, 49 percent said they expect to spend the same amount this holiday season and 72 percent said they are looking for gift "bargains," the paper reported.

Although the Harris poll comes after another tumultuous year in the stock market and fears of job security, the expected decline in holiday shopping this year points to a larger, longer trend in spending for gifts in the U.S., according to the USA Today.

From 1990 to 2000, even as the economy expanded during the tech bubble, overall consumer gift spending for people in other households fell 9.8 percent in inflation adjusted dollars, the paper reported, citing a Consumer Expenditure Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In an effort to lure bargain hunters, retailers are upping incentives for shoppers to open their wallets. Amazon.com (AMZN: Research, Estimates) is offering free shipping for gifts over $25, a move that will cost the company "tens of millions of dollars," the company's CEO, Jeff Bezos, told the paper.

"When there's uncertainty in the economy, people get very rational about their spending," Bezos added.