So Apparently the Holiday Shopping Season Started Already

Holiday shopping once marked that precious time between Thanksgiving and the December holidays. Santa sightings, piped-in Christmas carols and a mad rush at the mall all made buying those gifts almost a full contact sport. But this year, before the first frost, even before school started, Americans have been shopping. In fact, one in three began shopping before Labor Day, according to new data from Rubicon Project.

And they’re getting more splurgy, too. According to the data, the average person is planning to spend $1,175, up 12% from last year.

Who’s Spending the Most?

Men plan to spend more ($1,360 on average) than women ($1,028 on average), and parents plan to splurge the most – around $1,700, or $495 per child, mostly likely spent online.

Interestingly, despite reports of their staggering student debt, Millennials are also showing big increases in holiday spending this year, up 33% from 2015, to an average of $1,427. Most plan to shell out their dollars on apparel and accessories, video games and gift cards, Rubicon found.

To collect the data, the Rubicon Project used polling firm Penn Schoen Berland to conduct 1,003 interviews among holiday shoppers in the U.S. from August 23 to 25. The survey has a margin of error of 3.09%.

Rubicon’s stats aren’t the only suggestion that Americans are getting ready to spend big this holiday season.

Data from the National Retail Federation is predicting that sales in November and December, (excluding automobiles, gas and restaurant sales) will increase a solid 3.6% to $655.8 billion. The number is “significantly higher” than what it has been for the past ten years, an average of 2.5%.

“Consumers have seen steady job and income gains throughout the year, resulting in continued confidence and the greater use of credit, which bodes well for more spending throughout the holiday season,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a press release on the Federation’s website.

The NRF’s holiday sales forecast is based on several economic indicators including consumer credit, disposable personal income and previous monthly retail sales releases.

Getting Your Wallet Ready for the Holidays

If these numbers seem like a lot of money to you, remember, you shouldn’t feel pressured to overspend to keep up with the Joneses. It’s prudent to budget what you’re planning to spend for each person on your holiday list before heading out to do your shopping, and to have a total tally of what you plan to spend entirely for the season, with maybe a little room for leeway (but not much.)

It’s also important to budget for food and beverages. When you hit your spending limit, consider braking hard, because the last thing you need is to ring in your fabulous new year with of mountain of credit card debt. Falling into debt can also negatively affect your credit score, and a better score can net you better opportunities and loan rates for that next big purchase. (You can check two of your credit scores for free, updated every 30 days, on Credit.com.)

Image: shironosov