Shoppers Set Sights On Early Holiday Sales

WESTBURY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Black Friday may still be six weeks away, but stores are already advertising holiday shopping sales.

Consumers, however, may not be cashing in on the best deals right now, CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported.

The Nogueras from New Hyde Park have been looking to get a jump-start on their shopping, avoiding the continuous lines of cars that will soon be going into and out of Long Island malls.

"We like shopping ahead, ahead of the Christmas rush," Bing Noguera told McLogan.

The National Retail Federation predicts holiday sales will be up more than 4 percent over last year due to a slightly more stable cost of living and housing and job market.

The big promotional push will begin at stores Nov. 1.

Joel Evans, a business professor at Hofstra University, said there is no need to hold out until Black Friday. It's time for shoppers to take advantage of stores' 30-day price-matching policies, he said.

"You have to keep your receipt, and you have to be vigilant, because the store's not doing the work for you," Evans said. "What they're banking on when they have the 'we'll match any price' policy is that you're not going to follow up."

Discounts are expected to be widespread. But unlike last year, when there was a free-shipping backlog fiasco, FedEx and UPS are expected to announce a Dec. 21 cutoff.

According to a survey by Price Waterhouse, families who make less than $50,000 are expected to spend $377 this year -- $50 fewer than last year. Those who make more than $50,000 say they'll spend $978 -- same as 2013.

"We look for sales in the newspaper, on the Sunday newspapers, and then kind of compare the prices," Jenny Yoon, of Levittown, said.

"We usually wait till the last second to buy our presents," said Elena Kenny, of Plainview. "Hopefully by then, we get the biggest sale of the season."

"Christmas, they usually have better sales," added Ashley Alexander, of Uniondale. "So I look now and then come back."

Analysts say another promising trend is that fuel prices are down, meaning consumers will have more money in their pockets to spend.

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