By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

AUBURN – At Orphan Annie’s Antique and Curio Shop, Dan Poulin measures holiday sales by the receipts he’s skewered on a spindle.

The sales receipts usually topple over the spindle’s edge. On Wednesday, they reached less than two-thirds of the way up.

“People are definitely spending less. Unfortunately,” Poulin said.

It’s a low-tech way to gauge consumer trends, but market researchers say Poulin is exactly right.

Maine shoppers have been restrained this holiday season.

The MainePulse, an initiative of MaineToday.com and Portland Research Group, surveyed 775 Mainers between Dec. 5 and 13. Forty-four percent said they planned to spend less this year. Forty percent said they’d spend the same amount.

Only 16 percent expected to spend more.

The survey didn’t ask shoppers why they were spending less, but past polls have pointed to high energy and fuel costs, said Portland Research Group President Bruce Lockwood.

Casey Walton of Yarmouth will cut back on his Christmas spending because of those rising costs. He and his sisters agreed not to buy gifts for the adults in the family this year.

“We’ve got a budget. Home heating oil is taking more of that budget,” he said after picking up a couple of last-minute gifts at the Auburn Mall.

In past years, Walton has spent between $800 and $1,000. He figures he’ll trim that by about 10 percent.

Kelly Alley of Livermore expects to cut her Christmas spending by 15 to 20 percent. A full-time nursing student who commutes to school in Auburn, her spare cash goes to gasoline.

“I think we’ll probably be a little more guarded this year,” said Alley as she shopped with her son and daughter. “Everything’s factored in this year.”

Melissa Martin of Litchfield will slash her holiday spending by 50 percent this season, setting aside $100 to $200 for gifts. But, while other shoppers worry about the price of gasoline and oil, she’s more concerned with diapers.

“I’m spending less because of him, right here,” she said, nodding with a smile at her 10-month-old son.

However, Gerard Croteau of Auburn planned to spend “at least as much or probably more” on Christmas presents for his wife and children. With a raise from work, he’ll shop for video cameras, a flat-panel computer monitor and everything else his 18- and 21-year-old sons listed.

“We pretty much get them what they want,” he said while waiting for gift wrappers at the Auburn Mall.

Despite high energy costs, G.M. Pollack and Sons, a jewelry chain with stores in Auburn and Brunswick, expected sales to be up by about 10 percent this season.

“I think people who purchase jewelry aren’t so concerned with those costs,” said Moira O’Regan, director of marketing.

Back at Orphan Annie’s, Poulin looked at his receipt spindle and figured sales might be down this year. He won’t know exactly how far down until he does the calculations at the end of the month.

But with a few shopping days left until Christmas and Hanukkah, he’s trying to stay optimistic.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” he said. “It’s not over until it’s over.”