Survey: Holiday shopping starts early, online

PHOENIX — Holiday shopping often starts earlier than commonly thought and also frequently being online. According to a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers from G/O Digital, 62% of respondents go straight to search engines when researching gifts for the holiday season and more than three-quarters look online for holiday shopping deals and discounts.

They stay closer to home with the majority of respondents staying within 10 miles of where they live. Almost half of respondents, 47%, say they start thinking about what they'll purchase this holiday season before November.

In addition, 71% of respondents say they always or often research a product online before shopping in-store, while less than 1% never research online prior to heading in-store. When asked on which platform they are most likely to see a promotion from a local business and click on it, 51% said email. Almost one-third of respondents said they purchased an item from a local business based on an advertisement they saw on Facebook.