Nov. 21--Don't be surprised while shopping this season to find that some stores no longer accept checks.

Diesel, True Religion, Ed Hardy and Lululemon Athletica are among a growing list of stores that don't accept personal checks.

Gap Inc. has tested the idea. Austin-based Whole Foods Market is trying it out at a few stores in California and Arizona. The organic grocer hasn't come to any conclusions yet, a spokeswoman said.

Check fraud is a costly problem for the retail industry, and stores just don't see many shoppers pulling out a checkbook anymore.

Only 4 percent of consumers say they'll be writing checks to pay for purchases this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation's 2009 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey conducted by BIGresearch.

Generational differences really show up, with a minuscule 0.3 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds and 1.4 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds saying they'll write checks. You guessed it. The numbers rise with age, peaking at 9.8 percent of shoppers 65 and older.

How are people paying? One in four will pay with cash. More than 42 percent will use debit cards; 28.3 percent will put their purchases on credit cards. Only 0.3 percent plan to use gift cards, according to the NRF survey.

In October, the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank stopped processing paper checks at its Uptown facility. As recently as 2006, it had several hundred employees working in that division.

Dozens of Fed Bank check-processing facilities across the country have closed in the last five years. Paper checks are now processed only at the Cleveland Fed and by private companies such as big commercial banks.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is aggressively integrating its stores and Web site this year.

On Black Friday, many shoppers will be able to stay in their pajamas. Some Black Friday in-store specials are going to be available this year online at Walmart.com.

Walmart.com is charging 97 cents for home delivery of any consumer electronics item, whether it's a 50-inch TV or a pocket camera. (Site-to-store orders are still free.)

And the Web site will have about 50 online-only specials on the day after Thanksgiving.

Raul Vazquez, president and chief executive of Walmart.com, said the company's online business is in the "multiple billions of dollars" and is growing at a rate faster than Amazon.com's 20 percent annual increase. Wal-Mart won't break out its dot-com business, but it's safe to say it's less than Amazon.com's $19 billion last year.

Last year, some shoppers noticed that an item was priced lower online than in Walmart stores.