2016 Holiday Shopping: 34M Shoppers Done, 73 Percent Annoyed by Early Start

If you’re one of those hyper-organized folks who already have Christmas shopping 2016 in the bag, you should know you annoy the bejesus out of your fellow humans.

Amirite procrastinators? But retailers are grateful to those of you who have already tackled their holiday shopping, which validated the Christmas displays that went up shortly after Labor Day.

A survey by CreditCard.com says that 1 percent of Americans, or 34 million Santas, say they are done with their shopping. Already. Before the first week of October. Pass the eggnog.

Conversely, 73 percent of your neighbors said in the poll that “it is annoying that the holiday shopping season has gotten earlier.” Forty-eight percent strongly agreed, and 21 percent disagreed, according to the website.

So what in the name of “rushing the season” is going on with retailers? Christmas season is make or break for many retailers, with Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving that has come to mean stampedes at malls for great deals on TVs and computers — often responsible for making the year profitable for stores.

With inflatable Santas and Christmas trees already sprouting in stores, the CreditCards.com poll shows nearly three in four Americans are annoyed with the early arrival of the holiday season.

When asked for the best date for holiday displays and sales to appear, those polled said: Labor Day, 3 percent; about Oct. 1, 7 percent; Halloween, 21 percent; around Thanksgiving, 52 percent; and two weeks before Christmas, 12 percent.

»When do you start your Christmas shopping? Is your list already done? Tell us in comments.

OK, mid-December is crazy, but businesses say they roll out their stock when customers ask for it.

“If the consumers are asking for holiday products earlier in the year, you are more than likely to see retailers start having a small assortment by late summer and build up their inventory as we move into the holiday season,” says Ana Serafin Smith, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. “It is natural that retailers are reacting to this trend.”

Walmart stores began stocking the shelves for Christmas several weeks ago, while Costco’s display of trees, yard ornaments and manger scenes moved in more recently next to Halloween costumes and hunting clothes.

Experts say those who had their Christmas shopping wrapped up before fall officially arrived likely made their purchases online.

“There are definitely a bunch of people who might be annoyed by how early the holiday shopping season begins but are still holiday shoppers,” Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, told CBS. “Generally, the younger you are, the less likely you are to care about these things. White, older, more affluent consumers are more likely to want stores to wait longer.”

About 58 percent of Americans still prefer to do their Christmas shopping in stores — maybe misery loves company? — while 21 percent order gifts online, and 11 percent shop on their mobile phones.

By the end of November, one-quarter of U.S. adults plan to have finished their holiday shopping, the study found.

In recent years, some stores have begun to open on Thanksgiving evening in hopes of extending the Black Friday shopping spree, which falls on Nov. 25 this year. Target, Walmart, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Toys “R” Us and Best Buy were among the national chains that opened after 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving 2015 and plan to do so again this year.

The move has been heavily debated on social media, with opponents denouncing the early openings for taking workers away from families on the holiday. Retailers who do not plan to open on Thanksgiving 2016 include Staples, Costco, Ikea and Nordstrom, says BestBlackFriday.com.

»Photo of Christmas items on display at A.C. Moore store in Bel Air, MD, by Elizabeth Janney