It’s the middle of August, which means Halloween stores are popping up left and right, which means that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means it’s already Christmas shopping season. Crazy, right? While that might sound absurd, according to a survey from Shopkick, the holiday season is set to launch sooner than ever this year.

One issue that’s currently affecting the shopping season are the issues with the global supply chain. Aside from ships getting stuck in the Suez Canal for days, many big-​box retailers are simply struggling to get their products in stores from across the globe. That, in turn, means consumers are going to struggle buy products. Anyone who may be trying to snag a PlayStation 5 over the past six months can attest to this. According to money​.com, it could take items longer to reach you, so time is of the essence and shopping sooner than later can’t hurt.

When are people planning to shop?

Shopkick found that people are willing to do just that:

• 22% of consumers plan to shop early this year
• 25% expecting to do most of their shopping before Thanksgiving
• 10% expecting to do most of their shopping before Halloween

68% of respondents said that they plan to visit stores like Target and Walmart to do their holiday shopping, with over 43% saying they plan to visit stores in-​person. That’s up from 9% last year, when we were in the peak of the initial COVID-​19 pandemic wave. While online shopping has become easier than ever, especially within the past year, it’s the ability to see, touch and try on clothes that people desire this season:

• 70% of shoppers say the ability to try on clothes is most important to them
• 41% want in-​person interactions with sales associates
• 20% want product samples
• 15% of shoppers like the complimentary gift shopping

Why start shopping so early?

A big motivator for a lot of these shoppers is getting back to the world in which we all lived in two years ago. Traditions like going to shopping centers as a family to shop for holiday presents or camping out for Black Friday deals like TVs or video game consoles were missed last year. Survey responders want to get back to that, but they also want to stay safe. That’s why it makes sense cleanliness loomed large in their responses:

• 48% of shoppers requested retailers offer disinfecting spray
• 36% want stores to enforce social distancing
• 36% want to see plexiglass barriers at checkout
• 34% of shoppers want the retail employees to wear facemasks

What about online purchasers?

While many consumers surveyed in this study are eager to get back to an in-​store experience, most responders are looking to spend time shopping online:

• 57% of shoppers said they plan to do their holiday shopping virtually this year
• 61% said they plan to take part in Black Friday
• 78% said are going to take advantage of Black Friday online, 64% indoors
• 67% are going to shop on Cyber Monday

Trying to figure out what to do with these numbers can be overwhelming, but with AdMall, powered by SalesFuel, we’ve made it easy for you.

We have Event Marketing reports for Black Friday and Cyber Monday that you can use to frame your sales pitch. We have AudienceSCAN profiles for all generations so you know when and where your clients can effectively advertise to them. We have hundreds of Local Account Intelligence Reports to  familiarize you with an industry before calling on them. Whatever it is you need to get up to speed before your first sales call, we’ve got you covered.

Photo by Uriel Mont from Pexels