Tara Bruckner has already started her holiday shopping.
Bruckner usually starts her holiday shopping by October and finishes by Thanksgiving, but this year she started even earlier and bought several items for her two children and her mother.
“I made a ‘note’ on some items when I was shopping for school in July, then ordered them online in August when they went on sale,” Bruckner, who lives in Chilton, Wisconsin, told USA Today.
She is not alone.
A new survey finds that more consumers are starting their holiday shopping early this year, but are still worried about rising costs and budgets.
A new survey released this week by Gartner & Co. found that 32% of consumers plan to do their holiday shopping between July and October. A Bankrate survey earlier this month found that 48% of shoppers plan to start their holiday shopping by Halloween.
But they are concerned about the cost.
More than half of shoppers don’t plan to spend more this year
“The effects of high inflation and supply chain issues in a post-pandemic economy mean holiday shoppers remain nervous,” Cassi Socha, director analyst in Gartner’s Marketing Practice, said in a press release.
Of consumers surveyed, 64% said they plan to maintain their spending this holiday season, while 21% plan to cut back on spending.
For those who plan to spend more, “the increase is primarily due to increased gift costs, not increased discretionary spending,” Sochi told USA Today in an email.
Bruckner buys Christmas gifts for more than 20 people, including family members, relatives, co-workers and those in need. She spends about $3,000 a year on Christmas gifts and plans to spend the same amount this year.
She worries that inflation will drive up prices and said there may be fewer gifts this year.
Bruckner said she’s also spreading out the hit to her wallet by spreading out her holiday shopping and getting it done by Thanksgiving.
She shops at many smaller stores for “soulful items,” but also at major retailers, where she was shopping at midnight on Black Friday, which she says was “fun and crazy.”
But “sales seem to be announced earlier every year,” she says. “I’m glad that sales on big-ticket items like electronics are spread out, because if I shop early, my wallet can catch up.”
Customers are cost-conscious
The survey also found that consumers are concerned that store prices are not competitive with online prices, with 20% of consumers planning to increase their online shopping this year.
The survey found that 60% of consumers have at least one concern about shopping in stores this holiday season. While shoppers expressed interest in returning to in-store shopping last year, they now report a variety of reasons for concern, including rising prices (40%), inventory (28%), assortment issues (18%) and security concerns (14%).
“When shopping, consumers prioritize price, promotions and free shipping, in that order, when deciding what to buy,” Socha told USA Today.
Despite inflation, retail sales are expected to grow modestly this year, according to Deloitte’s 2024 holiday forecast.
A September survey found that retail sales are expected to increase 2.3% to 3.3% this holiday season, compared with a 4.3% increase last year.
Consumers have already started their holiday shopping
Earlier this month, Bankrate reported in a survey that 48% of holiday shoppers said they plan to start shopping by Halloween.
Walmart announced Wednesday that it will have holiday sales in October, saying it is starting its holiday sales early as consumers are shopping early for the holiday season.
Prior to this, Amazon announced that it would hold its second Prime Day, “Prime Big Deal Day,” in October. Walmart’s Prime Day will be held at the same time as Amazon’s Prime Day and will last longer than Amazon’s.
Holiday Shopping: Forget Halloween, it’s already Christmas for some American shoppers
In a previous article on holiday shopping for USA Today, Ted Rothman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said retailers are responding to consumer demand to get an early start on their holiday shopping, spurred by special retailer events such as Amazon Prime Day, Target Circle Week and Walmart’s holiday sale.
“About one in eight early risers have already started, and about one in eight plan to start this month, especially with October serving as the unofficial kickoff month for the holiday season,” Rothman told USA Today earlier this month.
Betty Lynn Fisher is USA TODAY’s consumer reporter. Contact her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook and Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up here for our free The Daily Money newsletter, featuring consumer news stories on Fridays.
