Holiday shopping may begin sooner than expected.

The NPD Group’s 2015 Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey has revealed that more consumers will begin their shopping earlier, a higher percentage of shopping will take place online and more growth will be seen among the top categories purchased compared to last year.

According to the survey, half of all holiday shoppers plan to start their shopping before Thanksgiving weekend, a 6% increase over 2014. Regardless of when they begin, most shoppers plan to continue their holiday shopping into December.

Brick-and-mortar will be the channel most used by consumers for shopping this holiday season, but online will continue to steal share. Two-thirds of consumers plan to do some of their holiday shopping online this year, a 12% increase over 2014. Based on consumer plans, more of their purchases are expected to come from the online channel in 2015, and e-commerce pure-play sites gained the most in terms of planned purchases out of all destinations this year.

“Consumers don’t have a need to seek the deals out on Black Friday the way they did during past holiday seasons. Now the deals come to them, early and often,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, The NPD Group Inc. “With consumers shopping earlier and more going online it will be critical for brick retailers to take action in order to compete with the click players.”

Top Categories Gain Momentum, Few Gain Dollars
Fashion and entertainment are the top planned super categories for holiday purchases, followed by toys.

Clothing continues to be the leading product category for holiday purchases, with 49% of respondents indicating they plan to purchase it this holiday season, up from 44% in 2014. However, clothing isn’t the only product category that expects to see a significant boost this year. Food/beverages, books, movies/DVDs, video gaming systems/video games, small personal accessories and smartphones also have the attention of more consumers this holiday season.