Holiday Shopping Starts…Now? Our Guide to Making the Most of the
It’s not your imagination: Holiday shopping starts earlier every year. In fact, in the last three years, we’ve seen
spikes in global holiday shopping starting as early as yesterday, September 30. Why? People are looking earlier than ever for that perfect present.
And we’re expecting that same early shopping pattern again this year as retailers look to meet shoppers’ demands ahead of festivities like Christmas, Hanukkah and Diwali in India.
As we kick off this year’s holiday shopping season, we want to help make your gift buying experience smooth and easy so the focus is where it should be: spending time with loved ones.
Some things to consider as you make your shopping plans:
- Make a list: Santa was onto something here. Jot it all down and set your priorities. It’s one of the few times of year when you get quality time with loved ones, so know what you want to do and don’t want to do – like shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve.
- Go mobile: Use your phone to check a few gifts off your list while you’re on the go. PayPal offers an easier checkout with One Touch™. Shop securely across hundreds of thousands of retailers without typing your username and password or 16-digit credit card number multiple times. With One Touch™, you can spend less time paying and more time sleighing.
- Be budget wise: Get the items on your list for less. Many of your favorite retailers offer great deals throughout the holiday season. We’ll be saving you time in the coming months by pulling together all the best deals on the PayPal Shopping Hub.
- Buy now, pay later: Don’t spend our family time this season sorting through bills and stressing over due dates to avoid costly interest. With PayPal Credit [1] you can pay when it’s most convenient for you with special financing offers on purchases of $99 or more. Or choose PayPal Credit Easy Payments at select merchants and pay the same amount each month to help you plan better.
- Group gift: Group gifting allows family members and friends to come together and split the cost of a more expensive gift to make giving more affordable for everyone involved. We didn’t invent group gifting, but we do make it easier with peer-to-peer payments through PayPal.Me and Venmo. Buy that new watch for dad, divvy up the cost and request the funds from your brothers and sisters. Siblings live abroad? With PayPal, you can send and receive payments across borders in 26 currencies.
- Shop with confidence: When you buy through PayPal, we’ve got you covered. If the toy arrives with missing parts, your eligible purchases can qualify for Purchase Protection (see eligibility).
- Give back: Think about an alternative to physical gifts, which we’ve made easy – charitable donations. Since it’s the season of giving, check out PayPal Giving Fund and see if there’s a charity that’s a fit for your loved one. And starting on Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2015, through Thursday, December 31, 2015, we’ll match 1% of every donation of $10 USD or more that you make through the PayPal Giving Fund.
- Last but not least, remember that it’s the most wonderful time of the year, so smile and be merry!
We hope that these tips translate into many savings for you so that you have more time to spend with loved ones – an important gift that you’ll be giving them, too.
[1] PayPal Credit is subject to credit approval as determined by the lender Comenity Capital Bank.
Joanna Lambert, VP, Global Consumer Product and Engineering, PayPal