Here are some holiday shopping trends for 2021

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Last year’s holiday season was a wild ride for retailers and shoppers alike. So, what’s in store for us while holiday shopping in 2021?

One in five holiday shoppers has already started buying their gifts. That’s according to a new survey from NerdWallet of more than a thousand consumers. 30% said they plan to shop earlier this year than last year, and last year folks shopped early.

Kristin McGrath a Shopping and Trends Expert with the popular app RetailMeNot, says the survey also found that this year people are less concerned about safety in stores and more concerned about getting their stuff on time.

“That shows me a lot of people’s worst fears came true last year. They didn’t get things shipping on time. Things were out of stock. So, that’s really what they are fixated on heading into this season,” McGrath said.

Shoppers will be facing high demand this year, low supplies and shipping challenges. But there is a bright spot. Retailers know this too and are moving up the timing on normal holiday shopping traditions.

“We expect that we’re going to see some deals dropping early in October to get people out there knocking out parts of their shopping lists early,” McGrath added.

There is optimism this year about in-store shopping. Retailers are planning more “in-store events” since they couldn’t last year.

The survey found consumers plan to split their holiday shopping about 50/50 between in-store and online.

Above all else, consumers are hunting and hungry for free shipping deals.

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