16 Percent of Holiday Shoppers Started Shopping in September

Too early for Christmas shopping?

Many have already begun.

A survey conducted by the NPD Group last month, says 16 percent of consumers had already started their holiday shopping versus 15 percent last year. An additional 19 percent said they plan to start shopping before Thanksgiving, compared to 22 percent last year. Eighteen percent say they will start during Thanksgiving weekend, compared to last year’s 13 percent.

Among the consumers reporting that they will begin their shopping during Thanksgiving weekend, 12 percent plan to shop on Black Friday, while the remaining 6 percent plan to do their shopping on Saturday and/or Sunday.

MORE STORES OPEN ON THANKSGIVING

Consumers are expecting more Thanksgiving deals this year and more stores plan to follow in the trend of opening on Thanksgiving to cash in.

ONLINE SHOPPING GROWING

Nearly 60 percent of consumers plan to do at least some of their holiday shopping online this year, making online the leading channel for holiday shopping. Women are more likely than men to shop online (62 percent versus 57 percent), as are those with children in the household.

Online is leading the way for consumers making purchases, from pre-shopping homework to the checkout counter. Consumers list sale prices, convenience and free shipping as top reasons to buy online.

SPENDING ROUGHLY THE SAME

The majority of consumers intend to spend the same as or more than last year, and fewer reported that they plan to spend less (20 percent, compared to 22 percent in 2013).