1 in 4 Americans already have finished their holiday shopping

Survey shows a third expect to incur debt

Americans are getting ready to celebrate the holidays with more Zoom calls and online shopping than expected, making them plan ahead of time for their holiday shopping.

More than 25% of consumers have already completed their holiday shopping for the year, according to a LendingTree survey.

The survey by the online lending service shows that 1 in 4 Americans finished their holiday shopping by the first week of October.

The early shopping could be driven by federal aid provided as millions of Americans continue to be unemployed.

“Because of the coronavirus relief bill, increased unemployment benefits and overall reduced spending during the last six months, many Americans have a little more money in their bank accounts today than they otherwise would,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst for LendingTree. “It’s possible that some folks have taken advantage of that surplus to do a little early holiday shopping.”

Among the consumers buying ahead of time, over 44% of them were parents with children younger than 18. Nearly half of the consumers also have household incomes of $100,000 or more.

The survey also highlights how Americans expect to go into debt this year due to their holiday shopping.

Over 31% of consumers expect to go into holiday shopping debt over the coming months. Among those who were laid off or furloughed due to the pandemic, 47% expect to go into holiday shopping debt.

More than half of consumers with a household income of $100,000 or more expect to go into holiday shopping debt compared with 26% of those with a household income of $50,000-$74,999.

Shoppers’ preferred method of payment for their holiday shopping: credit cards.

Over 47% will use a credit card to pay for their purchases this holiday season, while 44%will pay with a debit card and 26% will pay by cash or check.

The survey also marks a stronger pivot to online shopping this year.

More than 81% of consumers said they would do 50% or more of their shopping online, compared with 11% of shoppers who said they will buy all their gifts exclusively at brick and mortar stores.