The news: Amazon is wasting no time gearing up for the holiday rush by announcing plans to launch its Big Deal Days sale on October 8 and 9.

• That’s the earliest it has ever hosted the event.
• The timing puts Amazon’s sale in direct competition with Target Circle Week, which will kick off on October 6.

Pulling the holiday season earlier: This holiday season will be unique given the combination of a presidential election and a shorter-than-normal period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The presidential election in particular creates uncertainty, which is why retailers aim to pull the holiday season into October before consumers’ focus shifts to the polls.

• Best Buy, for example, isn’t even waiting until Q4 to launch a Member Exclusive Sale. My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members will have access to exclusive deals on items such as TVs and laptops from September 27 to 29. Best Buy will then trot out a variety of other events—including a 48-hour flash sale on October 8 and 9; a “Prep for the Holidays” event that begins on October 21; and a gaming sale that launches on October 25—before the calendar turns to November.
• Big Lots, which recently filed for bankruptcy, rolled out the first of its “Black Friday Fridays” events last Friday. The sales, which occur every Friday through December 6, feature one-day deals.

Our take: There’s far more uncertainty than usual this holiday season, which is why retailers are wise to launch marketing and promotions in October, before any potential disruptions. And the push to drive holiday sales into October has primed shoppers to expect to buy holiday gifts well before they go trick-or-treating; over half (55%) of shoppers plan to buy gifts by October, per a Bazaarvoice global survey.

Go further: Read our US Holiday Shopping 2024 report.