A Reuters poll conducted by America’s Research Group confirms that Thanksgiving weekend was the midpoint of Americans’ holiday shopping plans. In the survey, 32 finished most of their holiday shopping by the end of November, and another 6 percent during the first weekend in December.
Shoppers spent more than they planned to on Black Friday, and have little money left to spend in the stores in December.
The survey suggests that in spite of the late start of holiday shopping this year, with not much happening until one week before Thanksgiving, shoppers still see the beginning of December as the time to start wrapping up their holiday shopping. It is an earlier schedule than we saw just a decade ago, and in my opinion, this shift is driven by the time pressure that many people experience during the holiday season.
