October holiday sales: What to buy now, what to wait for

Major retailers are kicking off the holiday shopping season early this year, with Amazon, Target, and Walmart hosting sales events in October.

Walmart’s deal event runs from Oct. 5 through Oct. 11, while Amazon and Target will hold their sales on Oct. 6 and 7.

“It used to be that Cyber Week was the be-all and end-all, but now October’s gotten a lot more competitive,” said Brie Schwartz, editorial commerce director at Good Housekeeping.

Starting in October also may help shoppers spread out the cost of holiday gifts.

PwC’s latest Holiday Outlook found that consumers expect to spend an average of $708 on gifts this year. Buying a few gifts earlier could allow shoppers to divide that cost among multiple paychecks.

Schwartz recommended buying toys early, as popular items may sell out quickly.

“If you see something at a good price that you know your kid will like, I wouldn’t wait until Cyber Week,” she said.

The NeeDoh advent calendar, for example, is available through an invite-only purchase process on Amazon, making it a product shoppers may want to monitor early.

“The toy mania has gotten crazy,” Schwartz said. “You don’t want to miss the opportunity to get something that will just be, frankly, totally sold out.”

However, Schwartz advised waiting on certain categories, like TVs and large appliances, unless they are urgently needed.

“TVs, the big appliances, if you need something now, you’ll still see decent discounts. But if you’re remodeling your kitchen in six months, hold off on buying the fridge. If you don’t need a new TV, I would say hold off on that as well,” Schwartz said.

Shoppers concerned about return policies may also benefit from waiting until closer to the holidays, as retailers often extend return windows during that time.

At Walmart, most items purchased now through Dec. 31 are returnable through Jan. 31. Target offers a 90-day return window for most items and a full year for Target-branded products with a receipt. Amazon’s standard return window is 30 days.

Electronics may have shorter return windows, ranging from two weeks to 30 days depending on the product. Shoppers are encouraged to read the fine print to avoid surprises.

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