More than 50 percent of Americans have passed on gifts they've received to other people, and 78 percent think "re-gifting" is okay some or most of the time, according to a study released Wednesday.

A survey of 1,505 adults conducted by market research firm Harris Interactive showed people are most likely to re-gift decorative household items like vases, paintings, picture frames and other trinkets. Seventy-seven percent of the re-gifters said they did it because they thought the gift was a perfect match for the person they passed it on to. Nine percent said they did it because laziness prevented them from present shopping, and four percent said they re-gifted because they didn't like the recipient.

Nancy Wong, a spokeswoman for Harris Interactive, says she's surprised by the results of the survey.

She tells Reuters, "It's not something I've thought about, and when I saw that nearly half had done it - 52 percent have re-gifted or would re-gift - it's quite a significant number."