Holiday shopping in October? Retailers offer deep discounts for those looking to get a head start

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Halloween, pumpkins and fall décor sit prominently on store shelves, but a new survey says that for half of us, the holiday shopping season has arrived.

"I'll start somewhere around this time, September, October, and I'll find myself finding deals. 'I know this is on sale, so I could use this,' so I end up getting it," said shopper Terinae Holland of Mount Airy.

"I haven't started yet, maybe about November around Black Friday? Get a lot of deals around that time," said Rebecca Klymer-Lindsey of Wynnefield Heights.

Ted Rossman, senior analyst with Bankrate.com, told 6abc that their recent survey shows 50% of holiday shoppers are likely to begin before the end of October, and 12% of early shoppers would begin before the end of August.

"Early holiday shopping has become a trend in recent years. A few years ago it was more of a supply chain story," said Rossman. "I feel like it's turned into more of a cost pressure kind of thing, and the retail industry has really embraced this."

Early October is bringing deep discounts and often targets online shoppers.

Amazon warehouses will be bustling with their 'Prime Big Deal Days' on October 10 and 11 and other retailers are rolling out their own sales.

"Target and Walmart, Best Buy, and a whole bunch of other major retailers also have Black Friday kind of pricing in early October," said Rossman.

"I think the fear among retailers is if you don't capture those dollars early, they might go somewhere else," said Rossman, who sees benefits for consumers.

"It gives you more opportunity to spread out your cash flow, find the best deals, lessen that impact," Rossman said.

You could start setting money aside now even if you know you won't start shopping until later.

The survey indicates about a third of shoppers expect inflation to impact their purchases.

"Inflation is a big concern. You get less for your dollar so you have to be more conscious of where you're putting them. Basic necessities that you get at Target are more important than holiday shopping at the end of September," said shopper Donald Bird of East Falls.

Rossman pointed out another way to ease financial burden is to take advantage of unused gift cards and use those toward your holiday shopping. He said to also try to stack discounts.

"So maybe combine a store deal with a rewards credit card that you hopefully pay in full and avoid interest," Rossman suggested. "You could sign up for some of those browser extensions or apps that help you comparison shop across websites."

"I think retailers might eke out a slight gain, but I think people are going to be pretty stingy about what they're spending this year."