(WFSB) – As of September 12th, we are 104 days away from Christmas. There’s plenty of time, but experts say you may want to consider starting your holiday shopping soon.

Ted Rossman is a senior industry analyst at Bankrate. Bankrate surveys shoppers every year.

“I know it seems like it starts earlier every year. Believe it or not, 1 out of every 8 holiday shoppers has already begun making purchases. Another 1 in 8 are planning to start this month. 1 out of 4 are planning to start next month, so if we roll all that up, that’s half of holiday shoppers beginning before Halloween,” said Rossman.

Rossman says during the pandemic people started holiday shopping earlier because of shipping delays. The supply chain problems have since worked themselves out, but the early shopping trend has continued. Rossman says retailers are adjusting to that.

“I view it more as a season of deals. It’s not as much about a certain day or dates on the calendar. It’s not just Black Friday or Cyber Monday,” said Rossman. “It’s really this kind of movement of deals throughout the holiday season. I don’t think they’ll really get better or worse as we get closer to the holidays. It’s really kind of a plateau.”

Rossman says that means you don’t have to wait to find a good deal. Shopping earlier can also help spread out the cost. The Bankrate study found one quarter of shoppers say they are stressed about the cost of holiday shopping.

“A lot of people still have 7 or 8 paychecks between now and the end of the year, even if you’re not ready to start buying yet, start sketching out that budget and that gift list. Set money aside from every paycheck so that you’re not going into expensive credit card debt,” said Rossman.

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