The concern is that the same consumers who avoid the malls when shopping will also skip perusing online sellers despite any potential bargains.

The New York Times reported Sunday that as far back as August, nearly half of online shoppers surveyed by eBillme.com said they planned to defer purchases this holiday season.

The Times said the stakes were particularly high for eBay, which last week announced 10,000 layoffs and has seen its stock value fall. The newspaper said eBay has seen its market share eroded in recent months by an aggressive Amazon.com, which has been increasing its sales staff and courting more of the small online retailers that were once the domain of eBay.

"This is a pivotal holiday season for eBay," said Jeffrey Lindsay, an analyst with Bernstein Research. "What people fear is that Amazon is basically building a bigger sales base than eBay and will use that knowledge to sell people more and more of the things they want to buy online."