Holiday creep is a hit with U.S. consumers

It seems the amount of Americans who complain about the commercialization of the holidays – and the speed with which retailers start targeting holiday shoppers – is starting to diminish. This is the time of year when people call into talk radio shows and take to Facebook and Twitter to bemoan the encroaching creep of holiday sales that start earlier and earlier each year. But there is another voice, a growing voice, coming from consumers who embrace this trend.

Case in point: two separate surveys released recently indicate that sizeable portions of U.S. consumers actually welcome retailers’ encroaching holiday push. In fact, many consumers already started shopping weeks ago for the upcoming winter holidays. Even more surprising is the news that some of them have already finished buying their holiday gifts.

A study conducted by CreditCards.com over the Labor Day weekend reported that about one in seven – or 32 million Americans – have begun buying for the holidays. The study also discovered that two percent of all consumers — roughly 4.6 million people — have completed their shopping lists.

A second survey issued by digital advertising technology firm Rubicon Project expanded the search to find that one-third of shoppers across the U.S., UK, and Canada have already started spending money on for the holidays.

"While we’re still in the tail end of summer, consumers have signaled that holiday shopping is already well underway," the company said in a September press release.

“Consumers have taken control of the holiday shopping season, starting earlier, and signaling a clear desire to shop online and on mobile devices. For the first time, US consumers are telling us that an online-only outlet, Amazon, will be their number one shopping destination in the US and eBay will be one of the top three shopping destinations in the UK. Brands looking to win big this holiday season should take note and align their engagement campaigns to the new reality of the in-control and on-demand consumer who is just as comfortable buying online or on their mobile devices as they are in store.”

Some 78 percent of those surveyed across the three regions plan to spend the same or more money this year than they did last year – an average of $1,011. U.S. parents are leading the generosity push this year with 48 percent willing to open their wallets a bit wider this year than last.

While 63 percent of all consumers surveyed prefer to purchase lots of smaller gifts rather than one large item, nearly half of those surveyed (49 percent) still plan to scoop up at least one “big ticket” item this year, with technology purchases grading high on the big ticket wish list.

According to the survey, slightly more than 50 percent of consumers in the U.S., U.K., and Canada are planning to purchase tech or mobile devices this holiday season. In total, shoppers plan to spend more than $300 on tech-related items this holiday.

"We love to complain about stores putting up holiday displays earlier and earlier each year," said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com. "But the truth is that millions of Americans start holiday shopping long before the first Christmas tree appears in a store."

Not all consumer groups are the same, nor do they share the same habits. The studies delved into which set of consumers are likely to start making holiday purchases early. According to CreditCards.com, parents are twice as likely to have started shopping as those without kids. Grandparents are even farther along in their holiday planning, with seven percent of people ages 65 and older saying they've already finished shopping.

That compares to one percent of people ages 64 or younger.

You might not be surprised to learn that a person's budget is a factor in their shopping habits. However, the studies found that the less money a person makes, the more likely he or she is to try and wrap up their shopping early.

According to the findings from CreditCards.com, just 19 percent of those who earn at least $75,000 a year expect to finish their holiday shopping before December. By comparison, 30 percent of those making $30,000 a year plan to do so.

"If you're on a budget, getting an early start on holiday shopping can be a great idea," Schulz said. "For example, it can make it easier to take advantage of layaway programs."

Rubicon's study polled 2,009 online consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada between Aug. 26 and Aug. 28, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.09 percent for the U.S., and plus or minus 4.37 percent for the U.K. and Canada.

CreditCards.com's survey was conducted among 1,004 U.S. consumers over the phone, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.