Parents plan to spend nearly $500 a child this holiday season

It’s only September, but not too soon for Santa hats, twinkle lights and piles of sleekly wrapped gifts.

Or so retailers want you to think, in their effort to inch the holiday shopping season earlier and earlier each year. And the American consumer appears to be complying: Nearly half of parents began their holiday shopping before Labor Day weekend.

Starting to buy gifts before the kids are back in school may seem extreme, but parents are gearing up to spend 25 percent more per child this year than in 2015. According to a recent consumer survey from Rubicon, parents are planning to drop an average of $495 on each of their children.

Amazon and Walmart are tied for the top shopping destination so far, with 76 percent of parents planning to shop online. They are also more likely to shop on mobile devices than the average consumer.

True to form, millenials will be shelling out the most cash on experiences like shows, travel and sports events this holiday season, averaging $364. They’ll do the majority of their shopping online, with 28 percent not planning to even set foot in a retail store. Because of the growing desire to shop without having to leave the house, Cyber Monday’s popularity tops that of Black Friday, with 47 percent planning to spend on the online shopping day.

In addition to the gifts actually on your shopping list, many end up treating themselves for putting up with crowded aisles and long checkout lines. People reported they plan to spend an average of $322 on things for themselves.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Parents plan to spend nearly $500 a child this holiday season."