The holiday shopping season is getting an early start, with major retailers and online giants rolling out holiday deals now. Amazon is starting a two-day Prime event Tuesday, while Target and Walmart have announced their own sales promotions that start this month. Experts say these deals come as inflation and other factors may drive more shoppers to the checkout earlier this season.
If you’re looking for more context on this matter, please consider Donna Hoffman, professor of marketing and co-director of the Center for the Connected Consumer at the George Washington University School of Business. Her areas of expertise include online consumer behavior and online shopping, internet marketing and social media.
Hoffman says the main concerns for this holiday shopping season will be inflation, the supply chain and a potential recession. She can speak to how these trends affect consumer behavior.
“Consumers might be worried about rising prices and try to shop early,” Hoffman says. “Essentially, consumers might be trying to hedge their bets this holiday season and not wait until last minute for all these reasons. Supply chain problems might mean it will also be hard to get items later and those prices might go up as well.”
If you would like to speak with Professor Hoffman, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
-GW-