By Tim Feran – Women were more prudent spenders than men during the holidays, according to a new study by market research company NPD Group.

“We had been seeing a decidedly frugal mindset in the female consumer in the earlier part of 2011,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, “and based on these results, it would appear that women have held to that through the holiday season.”

As a result, many methods were used to pry dollars from customers, Cohen said.

“Retailers used door-busters, special sales, discounts and discounts on top of discounts to lure the consumer in — and it worked,” Cohen said, “but it also front-loaded holiday sales — and that made the holiday look good on the surface, posting higher dollar volumes — but ultimately it will challenge (profit) margins.”

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