November and December now account for less than 21 percent of annual retail sales at physical stores, down from a peak of over 25 percent, and experts believe it'll keep dropping.
At a busy Target store in Brick, New Jersey on Saturday morning, many shoppers seemed to be picking up small items to use as stocking stuffers.
It's no longer a seasonal business, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at consumer research firm NPD Group Inc. It's a yearlong investment for the consumer.
Christopher Rogers, a research analyst at Panjiva, which looks at imports, says he has seen a smoothing out of imports during the pre-holiday shopping season from July to November on key items like apparel, toys and furniture.
"The heightened competition being driven by the influence of e-commerce largely is driving prices down on popular holiday items," said Traci Gregorski, senior vice president of marketing at Market Track.
Retailers know consumers frequently compare prices on these categories online and are discounting more heavily to drive traffic and sales.
The average price for a TV from Oct. 1 through Tuesday was $829.52, down from $1,009.41 during the same time last year, according to Market Track, which tracked promoted prices across 40 major retailers on over 19,000 TVs.
Major department stores like Macy's have been seeing shoppers shifting their spending away from traditional merchandise like clothing and more toward gifts that offer experiences like beauty treatments and other services.
