The Holiday Shopping Season As You Know It Is Officially Gone For Good?
Inflation has caused many retailers to start offering holiday shopping deals in October, earlier than ever before, redefining when the season actually begins.
The holiday shopping season this year has started earlier than any year prior. A combination of factors has contributed to this, from inflation escalating prices to companies moving more deals to their virtual stores. In a new, tumultuous economy, corporations attempt to bolster their holiday season sales by providing customers with ample opportunities to spend.
According to Axios.com, giant retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart have started their shopping season deals prematurely, with October bargains unparalleled to previous years. Corporations that have suffered from excess inventory over the summer months are trying to eliminate redundant items, offering sweeping deals on their burdensome overstock. Consumers are also more interested in buying holiday gifts earlier, with 44% of customers believing that prices will rise over the next couple of months.
Alongside inflation deterring people from purchasing this holiday shopping season, it has made necessary payments like bills harder for people to manage. Families earning more than $75,000 a year are twice as likely to struggle with bills this year compared to 2021. The impact of inflation on the current economy has made it exponentially challenging to pay for housing and necessary goods, which puts corporations that rely on consumer traffic at a disadvantage.
Since retailers have realized their customers are less likely to spend superfluously this year, they’re trying to provide better deals earlier to incentivize shopping. Amazon was 0ne of the first to institute premature bargains, which has primarily influenced competing companies like Walmart and Target to follow suit. Now, large retailers are providing extensive deals for October shopping, kickstarting the holiday shopping season earlier than ever.
Amazon’s popular Prime Day, a special deals day for Prime members, was pushed to October instead of operating in July. This move could work in Amazon’s favor since a survey from Klaviyo found that 78% of customers won’t spend their Black Friday money during Prime Day. With more Americans spending money earlier than expected, brands waiting to establish November sales may be left in the dust.
Alongside Prime Day, Amazon will release another holiday-shopping-season event with its Prime Early Access Sale. Starting Tuesday at midnight on the west coast, Prime members in 15 countries globally can access unbelievable deals for 48 hours. The sale will be over after October 12th but will include bargains for thousands of brands during the event’s short duration.
Target is taking a page out of Amazon’s playbook with its recent announcement of seven weeks of Black Friday deals. For almost two months before Thanksgiving, Target will have 50% more discounts on toys, appliances, kitchen items, and electronics than last year. The first week of Target’s seven-week Black Friday event has already commenced, with new discounts unveiled every Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Best Buy is another electronics retailer starting its holiday shopping season early. This Tuesday, the company will have a 48-hour flash sale, coincidentally the same day Amazon will premiere its Prime Early Access Sale. For the third year in a row, Best Buy will be closed during Thanksgiving, giving the company more incentive to provide ahead-of-schedule discounts.
