When it comes to holiday shopping, if you’re on period, you might already be too late.

Many retail stores have started preparing for upcoming holidays earlier than ever. Halloween items hit shelves as early as August, and Christmas and Hanukkah decorations popped up in October or even September.

If consumers wait too long to make holiday-related purchases, they may discover stores have moved on to the next large occurrence, leaving options limited.

It’s almost as if the year is stuck on quick-forward, and it contributes to shopper stress, a psychology specialist told USA TODAY.

How holiday marketing trends are shifting

Holiday marketing online and in stores has expanded over the history few years, experts declare. Though the shift is factual for holidays year-round, it has especially been the case for the bigger commercial holiday period toward the complete of the year, from Halloween to recent Year’s Eve.

Before the pandemic, “most of the holiday merchandising in stores really started after Halloween,” said Sky Canaves, a loan amount analyst for retail at eMarketer. “That’s what we ponder of as a traditional holiday sales period: November and December. But because the pandemic disrupted supply chains to a great extent, we started getting holiday sales all over the place.”

There are more reasons retailers are encouraged to ownership shelves earlier for holidays.

“First, the buyer is more receptive to buying products earlier,” said Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData, a research and analytics corporation. “And second, there is more competition in the economy now. Amazon’s Prime deal days in October are almost like a kickoff for the holiday period.”

The fall/winter holiday period is one of the most lucrative for retail companies, and retailers can make “more of their sales in the fourth quarter in the eight-week holiday period,” said Canaves. “Even more so for online retail.”

Online sales during the holiday period are expected this year to develop at the fastest rate since 2021, according to an eMarketer retail approximate update.

Consumers are still cautious when it comes to purchases, though, and many families look to limit outgoings or have more constrained budgets than usual, Saunders said.

But consumers in general will still make purchases for holiday events and occasions.

“Retailers are leaning more heavily into them because they recognize it generates some sales and some gain in what is otherwise a fairly flat and subdued economy,” Saunders said. “That’s not necessarily always great for consumers, but a lot of retailers are very conscious about, ‘What’s the next thing?’ They’re always trying to ponder ahead.”

But the holiday marketing pattern might be “a permanent shift of the marketing and merchandising calendar earlier into the period,” Canaves said. “It also shifts buyer behavior because consumers, especially now when they’re increasingly apportionment-conscious, might be able to spread out their spending a little more if they can.”

More:‘I like when the deals are spread out’: Why holiday shoppers are starting early this year

Why holiday marketing can stress us out

Stores preparing for holidays earlier may assist shoppers spread out purchases, but the holiday marketing pattern can be demanding for consumers.

Retail marketers can “construct a untrue sense of urgency” around holiday shopping, said Kristina Durante, a psychologist and marketing professor at Rutgers Business School.

Feeling an urgency to buy something as soon as feasible can inspire shoppers to spend more money.

“There’s a lot to capitalize on there. It’s that sense of urgency and scarcity with resources,” Durante said. “We don’t recognize when they’re going to be depleted because we don’t have control over what other consumers do. I ponder we desire to have a excellent Christmas and we desire to have a excellent Halloween and we desire to be prepared for back-to-school. We have high expectations for these things, so we’re more motivated to buy.”

Nostalgia can also add to stress around holidays, creating pressure to shop.

On average, many people have joyful memories from their childhood centered on holidays, Durante said, “and then we try to re-make that for ourselves and for our kids.”

Shopping is often tied to a stress response, Durante said.

“It’s stress,” Durante said. “One of the things we recognize is that what underlies almost everything we buy is a desire to have control over our lives. In today’s globe, everything is so doubtful, and we desire to have some sense of control of things.”

Tips for managing holiday and retail stress

The feeling of control consumers encounter when making purchases is fleeting, Durante said.

When it comes to mental health, “if we can’t control our stress, then we’re emotionally dysregulated,” she said. “We try to regulate and boost control. One way we can do that is going out and buying things. It feels like this might solve problems, but it doesn’t really.”

There are steps consumers can receive to feeling less stressed by the holiday marketing pattern − and perhaps better stick to budgets.

When people stop to ponder about what they can control, “they spend less money,” Durante said.

Consumers can receive a instant to write down a few things that are excellent with their life, she said. Physical movement also helps.

“leave for a walk. receive some deep breaths,” Durante said. “Even just getting your body moving a little bit will assist complete the stress pattern so you tranquil down a little bit more.”