Although the majority of consumers don’t even want to start thinking about the holidays – decorations, the crowds, Black Friday – some are almost done or have already completed their holiday shopping. This group is doing what they can to avoid the holiday rush, crowds, lines, and stores in general.
Among those planning to holiday shop, 30% have already started their shopping.
When we look at the data from the same time last year, 27% of people had their holiday shopping underway, which is slightly less than the number who have already started this year. It’s still a little too early to tell whether this trend will continue or not, but we will continue to track it in the coming weeks.
Getting back to this year’s data, we saw a big jump in those starting their holiday shopping right after Halloween. During the week of 10/30, 69% of consumers said they hadn’t started their holiday shopping. However, by the week of 11/6, that number shifted to 62% of consumers.
So who are the shoppers who are about halfway done, almost done, or completely finished?
Unsurprisingly, these shoppers are likely to be women, and when compared to those who have done less shopping or haven’t started, they are slightly more likely to be Baby Boomers. People who have 6 or more people living in their household are more likely to have at least half of their shopping completed. Their larger household size could explain why they try to get their shopping started and completed earlier in the season.
When it comes to their holiday shopping habits, 48% don’t like anything about holiday shopping in stores, compared to 36% of the general adult population. Half of this group plans to shop on Black Friday, but it looks like more people will be shopping online than in stores. And that seems to represent their general holiday shopping plans, which is a little surprising given their age:
They are more likely to say more than 50% of their holiday shopping will be done online this year. However, for the shopping they are doing in stores, they may be able to bypass many of the lines and crowds that people hate by starting so early.
Overall, holiday shopping progress is slightly ahead of where it was last year. Given the early shopping start, I would have thought that these consumers were excited to holiday shop and take part in the holiday festivities, but interestingly it doesn’t seem like that’s the case. Instead, it seems they have many people to buy for, and given their online shopping plans, it is evident that they want to avoid the holiday rush, crowds, and lines that are expected later in the season.
We will continue tracking shopping progress throughout the weeks to see how it’s coming along. Based on last year, we can expect to see a big jump in people starting their holiday shopping on Black Friday.
