--- title: "Many Holiday Shoppers Skip Last-Minute Deals, Shop Early" id: "30916" type: "post" slug: "many-holiday-shoppers-skip-last-minute-deals-shop-early" published_at: "2015-11-06T19:59:41+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T17:52:51+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/11/06/many-holiday-shoppers-skip-last-minute-deals-shop-early/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/11/06/many-holiday-shoppers-skip-last-minute-deals-shop-early.md" excerpt: "Done with your holiday shopping yet? Surprisingly, you’re far from alone. A recent National Retail Federation study found that most holiday shoppers start weeks, even months, before the holidays are even a glimmer in your eye." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "consumer behavior" - "holiday shopping" - "Trends" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Many Holiday Shoppers Skip Last-Minute Deals, Shop Early For some grinches, it’s the most annoying time of the year. The days after Halloween are often seen as a period of “Christmas creep,” where [holiday songs suddenly take over radio stations (opens in a new tab)](http://www.sltrib.com/home/3127985-155/two-salt-lake-city-radio-stations) , festive displays start going up, and retailers start promoting holiday sales. But there’s a reason why they do that: A bunch of early birds are out there, and they’re looking for a deal. [A recent study by the National Retail Federation (opens in a new tab)](https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/retailers-very-digital-holiday-season-according-nrf-survey) found that about 40 percent of shoppers start looking for holiday gifts before Halloween, while another 41.5 percent start focusing on holiday shopping in November. And this isn’t a new trend—NRF says that 40 percent of shoppers have been eyeing early gift-buying for the past 14 years! NRF’s Holiday Consumer Spending Survey found that a variety of reasons drive this bout of early shopping, including a desire to stretch out budgets (cited by 61.4 percent of respondents), avoiding crowds (48 percent), and avoiding stress (46 percent). “There are millions of people who have this early-bird itch,” NRF spokesperson Kathy Allen [told NBC News last month (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/youre-already-done-your-holiday-shopping-how-aggravating-n442021) . (Perhaps this whole early-bird thing is why the outdoor retailer REI [feels like its stores can take Black Friday off (opens in a new tab)](http://www.rei.com/black-friday) .) [As CNBC notes (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/02/shoppers-are-spending-more-than-you-might-think.html) , companies have been quick to change their selling habits to attract early-bird consumers. Wal-Mart, for example, starts holiday layaway programs in August, [and Amazon held its Prime Day (opens in a new tab)](http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/15/8968881/amazon-prime-day-best-deals) earlier this year, which was seen by some analysts as an attempt to push the holiday shopping season into the summer months. (Christmas in July just got a whole new meaning.) “We’ve now conditioned the consumer for it to be an elongated period of time,” [Deloitte’s Rod Sides told CNBC (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/02/shoppers-are-spending-more-than-you-might-think.html) . No word on how NRF or other retailers feel about radio stations playing Christmas carols so early in the year. [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#consumer behavior](https://associationsnow.com/tag/consumer-behavior/) [#holiday shopping](https://associationsnow.com/tag/holiday-shopping/) [#Trends](https://associationsnow.com/tag/trends/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoThe Graham Report: New CEO Trends in 2024January 31, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/01/31/the-graham-report-new-ceo-trends-in-2024/) - [VideoIntroducing the Graham Report Short Intro V2December 16, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/12/16/introducing-the-graham-report-short-intro-v2/) - [VideoIntroducing the Graham Report IntroDecember 16, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/12/16/introducing-the-graham-report-intro/) - [VideoIntroducing the Graham ReportNovember 27, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/11/27/introducing-the-graham-report/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F11%2F06%2Fmany-holiday-shoppers-skip-last-minute-deals-shop-early%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !