Shoppers are expected to break records for gift-giving this holiday season

ATLANTA — Analysts are predicting that the Thanksgiving shopping rush is going to be a record-breaker this year.

It is predicted that 183 million people are planning to shop for the holidays between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Foundation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Those shoppers include people looking for just the right gift in the store and online.

About 57% of the people surveyed said they would be shopping during the Thanksgiving stretch to get a good deal.

Holiday spending is expected to hit nearly $1 trillion this year.

Regardless of the people expected to hit the malls or Amazon, some shoppers have started taking a new approach to holiday shopping this year, called “Slow Shopping.”

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Slow Shopping is a new trend where shoppers take a more mindful approach to holiday shopping, taking time to consider the necessity, quality, and cost of an item before buying it.

“Every year, we see shoppers starting their holiday shopping earlier, but this time it’s different — they’re also taking their time. Over 50% plan to finish their purchases on or after Black Friday,” shares Vishal Kapoor, Affirm’s SVP of Product. “With just 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, expect consumers to use this time to carefully weigh their options and hunt for the best value from retailers, including more flexible ways to pay offered via longer payment terms and unique credit offers.”

“You can score big discounts on seasonal merchandise by waiting for sales to hit around mid- to end-of-season,” budgeting expert Andrea Woroch told the Huffington Post. “There’s a better time to buy just about everything, and [using] slow shopping can help you time your purchase right to get the best deals, especially if you know in advance when certain sales are coming up as you can then prepare in advance to think about what you really need, how much you can afford to spend and where to shop.”

This year, holiday spending is expected to reach a record $902 per person on average, according to the National Retail Federation.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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