Consumers to start holiday shopping before November, spend same amount as last year

Only 8% of shoppers said they will wait until the last minute to shop for the holidays and start buying gifts in December.

A large chunk of consumers are planning to begin holiday shopping before November.

That’s according to a new survey from Gartner, Inc., which found that 32% of consumers said they will begin holiday shopping “between July and October.” Just under three-in-10 (29%) said they plan to start in November, and 8% said they will wait until the last minute and start buying gifts in December.

While getting a head start on holiday shopping, only 14% of consumers plan to spend more than last year, with 64% of consumers planning to maintain their spend and 21% of consumers pulling back amid increased prices.

The survey found that consumers are concerned that in-store prices are not competitive with online prices, with a fifth (20%) of consumers planning to increase their online shopping behavior this year. Six-in-10 consumers say they have at least one concern about shopping in-store this holiday season, including higher prices (40%), inventory challenges (28%), selection issues (18%) and security concerns (14%), all of which saw increases in the last year.