While many consider Black Friday to be the official start of the holiday shopping season, surveys show that more than 40% of people are finished by the end of November. Gainesville business owners say they've seen a similar trend, having catered to some early shoppers but still expecting many to wait until the final weekend before Christmas.
A consumer survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, showed that 41% of those contacted planned to start their holiday shopping in October or earlier. It also revealed that 42% of respondents planned to be finished by the end of November.
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Jim Carnes, manager at Brittany's Fine Jewelry in the Shoppes at Thornebrook, 2441 NW 43rd St., in Gainesville, said that while he does see an uptick in business in mid-November, the temperature outside can have a big impact on early holiday sales.
"If it's December 1 and it's 92 degrees outside, people are like, 'It doesn't feel like Christmas,' " he said.
He called the last two weeks before Christmas the "real peak," particularly the last Saturday before the holiday, which he called the "panic window" for a lot of shoppers.
"The calendar really plays a role as to when you think you're going to get kickstarted and really get going," he said.
Just around the corner from Brittany's at Hoggtowne Music, which specializes in guitars, keyboards, band instruments and more, co-owner Melonie Dorsey said she's already had people stop in and inquire about holiday layaways.
"The entire month of November leading all the way up to Christmas is a sales event," she said. "Really steep discounts. So it's already started for us. You definitely have to compete."
A couple of miles south, Jay McGriff, owner of Sisset's Home & Patio, 3433 W. University Ave., said August and September were unusually slow this year, but that things began to pick up in October before a very successful holiday sales event on Nov. 9.
"That day was incredible," McGriff said.
Sisset's sells a variety of outdoor furniture and accessories along with home decor items and everyday gifts. It's the seasonal decor, however, that McGriff expects this week to drive his biggest sales of the holidays.
"So many people decorate the weekend of Thanksgiving," he said.