The U.S. mid-season shopping season is getting off to a historically quick start. Parents with children and college students have been loading up carts weeks in advance, transforming a previously drowsy period between July and September into a multibillion-dollar shopping binge.
As of early July, nearly 67% of consumers had already started shopping, up from 55% last year and the highest recorded level since tracking began in 2018, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
