With the holiday season approaching, shoppers can’t help but notice all the sale and clearance signs posted in store windows.Financial pressures are forcing consumers to be more conservative with their spending this year. In 2008,  26 percent of consumers surveyed by the NPD Group, a leading market research company, said they planned to spend less.In 2007, only 18 percent said they planned to spend less.But the National Retail Federation reported plunging gas prices and discounted merchandise could motivate shoppers.Rebekah Harvey, co-owner of Storyville, said the store has some sales right now, and shoppers can expect more as Christmas approaches.Harvey said she hopes the lack of consumer spending won’t affect their business this year.”With football season everything is still on track with last season,” she said. “Hopefully it won’t affect us too much once our Christmas sales are going on.”——Contact Leslie Presnall at [email protected]