More consumers will begin their shopping earlier for the holidays, and a higher percentage of shopping will take place online, according to a new study from The NPD Group. Additionally, more growth is expected among the top categories purchased compared to last year.

Half of all holiday shoppers plan to start their shopping before Thanksgiving weekend, a 6 percent increase over 2014, according to NPD’s 2015 Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey. Regardless of when they begin, most shoppers plan to continue their holiday shopping into December.

Brick-and-mortar will be the channel most used by consumers for shopping this holiday season, but online will continue to win a greater share. Two-thirds of consumers plan to do some of their holiday shopping online this year, a 12 percent increase over 2014. Based on consumer plans, more of their purchases are expected to come from the online channel in 2015, and e-commerce pure-play sites gained the most in terms of planned purchases out of all destinations this year.

Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group, interpreted the data.

“Consumers don’t have a need to seek the deals out on Black Friday the way they did during past holiday seasons," Cohen said. "Now the deals come to them, early and often. With consumers shopping earlier and more going online, it will be critical for brick retailers to take action in order to compete with the click players.”

Entertainment and fashion are the top-planned super categories for holiday purchases, followed by toys.

Clothing continues to be the leading category for holiday purchases, with 49 percent of respondents indicating they plan to purchase it this holiday season, up from 44 percent in 2014. However, clothing isn’t the only product category that is expected to see a significant boost. Food/beverages, books, movies/DVDs, video gaming systems/video games, small personal accessories and smartphones also have the attention of more consumers this holiday season.

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