Ed Luckey doesn't like shopping in crowds, so the Augusta man started his holiday shopping early this year.
"I want to get a head start, because I don't want things to run out, for one, because I've made that mistake before. And two, it's just a whole lot easier to come in -- you get it knocked out early. I hate crowds," Mr. Luckey said on Thursday while shopping at The Toy Box in Surrey Center.
He was buying Christmas presents for his three sons, ages 3, 6 and 8 -- allowing him to avoid one of the most crowded shopping days of the year, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
"Typically what I'll do is try to buy as much as I can early. And then what I don't buy, I'll order online. I can't stand going to the mall when it gets crowded. I've been shopping now for about a month," he said.
Still, many consumers have a lot of shopping left to do. Nearly three-quarters of shoppers nationwide have completed less than 10 percent of their holiday shopping, said Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman with the National Retail Federation.
With Christmas five weeks away, only 7.3 percent of shoppers have finished 26 to 50 percent of their holiday shopping, according to a National Retail Federation survey, which was conducted last week.
Some retailers are catering to the early shoppers. Both Sears and Best Buy are offering Black Friday-like deals in the week leading up to the traditional start to the holiday shopping season.
On Thursday, Daniel Browning, a student at Augusta State University, was getting a sneak preview of gifts that he plans to buy at Augusta Mall.
"The years before, everything has been gone when I tried to shop. So it's going to be an early year for me this year to try to get some good items for the family for Christmas," Mr. Browning said.
He plans to shop "wherever good deals appear," he said.
Adrian Crocker, of Grovetown, was buying presents for her family at Best Buy. The Army captain at Fort Gordon is being transferred to Fort Bragg, N.C., and won't see her family during the Christmas holiday. She purchased DVDs and iPod FM transmitters.
"I wanted to make sure that I had all my gifts bought early to get them out to everybody. I'm normally a procrastinator, but this year I wanted to get it over and done with," Capt. Crocker said.
She plans to do her holiday shopping early next year, too.
"I'd recommend it. It's way easier this way. Nobody in line, and I'll be done," she said.
Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.
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