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It may feel like it's too early to even talk about holiday shopping, but in reality, two out of five millennial shoppers have already started buying presents for the holiday season. Some consumers were crossing things off the list before back-to-school shopping even wrapped up.
Erin Dunphy, 25, started her holiday shopping this summer. She says it's better for her wallet, and starting early better accommodates her work schedule.
"It really helps to spread out the spending that I want to do and really start to look at the things or experiences I want to give to others," says Erin. "Also, August through February is my busiest time at work. So I make sure I try to cross things off my list early in the process."
Erin also uses shopping early as a way to stick to a budget. She puts away money for the holidays well in advance, which guarantees she isn't draining her bank account as the holidays approach. It also spaces out her spending, and ensures she's not paying sizeable holiday markups on her purchases.
"I start saving early so I have a little stash that I know is for others. Buying now means if something goes wrong, I can pay for it all and not feel like I have to choose between [buying] presents or fixing my car if it were to break," she says.
While we may cringe at the fact that holiday decorations go up as soon as the fake Halloween cobwebs get taken down, buying early does seem to be a budgeting tactic that a lot of millennials favor. According to the
Erin says she can see herself spending close to the millennial average by the time she's completed her shopping. She shops for her immediate family, her fiancé, her fiancé's parents and her two best friends.
"For the parents, nana and brother, my fiancé and I usually split the cost which helps tremendously. Right now I have all the friend presents, my mom's present and I know what I'm getting for everyone," says Erin. "My fiancé and I are going to Hawaii on our honeymoon, so we're getting each other an experience while we're there, that's the only one I'm really waiting on."
Millennials aren't the only ones controlling holiday shopping this year. Their spending still comes second to parents (though these two categories overlap). Parents plan to spend an average of more than $1,700 this holiday season. Not only is this about $300 more than they spent in 2015 (the average was $1,383 last year), but it’s also substantially more than the $903 non-parents plan to spend.
Parents are predicted to spend $495 per child this year, which is nearly $100 more than they spent last year. However, there is a discrepancy between how much each parent spends. Male parents plan to spend slightly more per child. The survey results for millennials and parents also revealed that more than half plan to buy a gift for themselves. (The men planning on buying gifts for themselves say they'd spend approximately $400, compared to the average of $242 women say they'll spend on themselves.)
As for where the money is going, millennials are by far the most digitally enabled shoppers, which means it will be another big holiday season for online retailers.
"Most of [my shopping] will be online," says Erin. "It's just easier that way. I can compare prices a little easier than in the stores, and I use cash back extensions on my browser which helps get some money back."
More on Forbes:
Walmart and Amazon are still predicted to be in the top retail spots for 2016 holiday shopping, but millennials heavily favor Amazon. And like Erin, 84% of shoppers research their gift selections online before committing.
Overall, the average holiday shopper will spend $1,175 this year, up from last year’s average of $1,051. Of those surveyed, 44% plan to spend more this year than they did in 2015.
In addition, Cyber Monday sales might rival Black Friday sales this year. Of those surveyed, 42% will shop on Black Friday, but 47% will capitalize on Cyber Monday deals. Based on the behaviors of millennial and parent shoppers, it’s not surprising that Cyber Monday will be so big; 58% of millennials say they are more compelled by online advertising than television advertising, while 38% of parents make purchases online directly from their mobile device.
We're not even into October yet, so there's still plenty of time to start saving for your projected holiday expenses. And the sooner you start, the more you'll be able to budget little by little, instead of incurring one huge financial hit in December. Even if you're opposed to buying in October, you can start by browsing for sales, checking when prices on different items might drop, comparing reviews to find the right gifts, and of course, putting away whatever you can spare so you have a healthy holiday shopping stash.
