With early start to holiday shopping, consumers seek value, practicality — and nostalgia

It’s indicative of a broader trend. The National Retail Federation recently reported that 85 percent of consumers expect prices for gifts and other holiday items will be higher their year, and more than half — 59 percent — said they would consider buying a secondhand gift for someone. Overall, the NRF forecasts sales for winter holidays will be up 4 percent over last year, though the average amount consumers said they plan to spend is down slightly at $890.49 versus $901.99 last year, which was a record. Of the total, $627.93 is expected to be spent on gifts, while the remaining $262.56 will be used on seasonal items such as food, candy, decorations and greeting cards.

“Time and again, Americans prioritize spending on loved ones for holidays despite economic uncertainty,” Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights, said in a statement.

“With more consumers planning to seek out sale events this year, retailers are prepared to deliver on deals and value to ensure consumers have everything they need to make the holiday special.”

Consumers also continue to shop early, with 42 percent planning to begin browsing and buying for the holiday season before November. The top reason: spreading out their budget, which more than half indicated was easier to do when starting earlier, while 41 percent want to avoid the stress of last-minute shopping.

At The Empire Mall, general manager Dan Gies noticed holiday shoppers were looking for holiday items before mid-November — even in midweek.

“We’re probably in our third year of Black Friday starts Nov. 1,” he said. “I think people really understand that now and want to get the shopping done and get the merchandise while it’s in stock. Media has done a pretty good job saying shop early because of the tariffs, or who knows.”

Mall shoppers will find an expanded lululemon location, a new Carhartt store, Hollister and a variety of seasonal retailers. Shoe retailer Vans opens Dec. 12.

“I think there’s even more enthusiasm than last year at this time,” Gies said. “I thought it was a little slower start this year, and people are out in droves now. The food court has been nuts.”

Downtown, “people are out and about,” Child’s Play Toys owner Nancy Savage said. “We’ve been wrapping presents like crazy. People are coming out doing all their Christmas shopping early.”

She front-loaded inventory more than usual this year given uncertainty around tariffs, “but the nice thing about the way it happened is we were able to see what some of the bestsellers would be and reorder them,” she said.

Popular toys include “a remote-controlled dinosaur that’s as tall as me,” collectible lines Jellycat and Maileg, along with “foil out” and “blind boxes” that include collectible mystery toys.

“Blind boxes as a category is huge, so we’re selling a lot of those,” Savage said.

Her customers increasingly are not only what traditionally would have been considered toy-store-age children either. Teens and even young adults are seeking toys, Savage said.

“Kid-dulting was a big word at market this year … and you see a lot of that,” she said.

“You build a model of a garden or a book nook, those types of things. I’m reordering those. It’s young people still liking to do some of the games and crafts and toys at an older age than they ever did before. The plush warmies — my daughter is 20 and has a warmie. If there’s a volleyball team in town, you get the whole team, and you can just tell when they walk in the door they’re looking for Jellycat and fall in love with the models up front and all the fun things.”

At Lewis Drug, holiday shopping “gets earlier and earlier every year, but this year it’s accelerated,” CEO emeritus Mark Griffin said. “It seems like people are out shopping hard for the bargains.”

The retailer’s traditional ladies’ discount event “was hugely successful this year,” he added. “We had a great two days, and people really responded and shopped and bought well, so we’re excited for that.”

Shoppers are gravitating toward the basics, he said.

“I think it’s a practical Christmas. I don’t think as much frills or fashion,” Griffin said. “I think people are sticking to basic products this Christmas because of the economy. … They even come back and go with medium- or lower-priced (options). Deals are getting worked hard, and we’re providing that.”

Lewis also is “out further than ever on buying,” he added. “We try to avoid tariffs at all costs … and we’re pretty successful at it. We are very conscious of it because the consumer is so conscious of it.”

While toys were a major category impacted by tariffs, with the majority made in China, “we’re starting to see the toy business is moving,” Griffin said. “It’s moving to Taiwan, it’s moving to Vietnam, it’s moving to Thailand. They’re not going to sit still, and all the producers are moving, so that’s interesting. It didn’t take long.”

And here’s one more thing that has started earlier this year: live tree buying — from a broadening demographic.

“One of the things we’re seeing is people are moving toward or shifting toward live trees more than boxed trees, and I think some of that has to do with pricing, and some of that has to do with nature,” Griffin said. “The demographic that is buying trees, I think the natural trend is there, so we’re fully stocked on live trees. You can keep them alive (buying now) if you treat them right.”