Retailers slash prices as holiday shoppers search for best deals early amid inflation
Forget about Black Friday. Holiday shoppers are already hunting for the best deals.
Half of this year's gift givers say they plan to start shopping by the end of October, according to a Bankrate survey. That's why Target rolled out its Deal Days event this week, slashing prices up to 50%. It was timed just days ahead of Amazon's highly anticipated Prime Early Access Sale.
"Retailers definitely have an arms race to reach shoppers while a shopper still has her or his money to spend on holiday items," said Burt Flickinger, managing director for Strategic Resource Group, a retail consulting firm.
About 40% of holiday shoppers say inflation will impact their purchases, with many choosing to buy fewer gifts and at a discount, according to the Bankrate survey.
Consumers are going to find the best deals on clothing, consumer electronics, TVs, consumer audio and books, Flickinger said.
For some small business owners like Alen Harikian, the holiday outlook is bleak. His family has owned Speers TV for more than 30 years, but he says big box retailers have made it harder for his shop to get popular TVs, and he can't compete with their low prices.
"If I buy a Samsung TV, let's say for $500, a week later, Amazon or Best Buy is selling it for $399," Harikian said. "So I've lost $100. So it just doesn't make sense."
The bigger retailers are also staffing up. Amazon announced it's hiring 150,000 workers ahead of the holiday rush. Walmart's hiring 40,000 workers because it's already staffed with more permanent positions this year — a trend that's expected to continue.
"Companies still need a lot of extra help during the holidays," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement and career transitioning firm. "But in this scenario, some companies are going to be asking people to stay."