(WTNH) – The countdown to Christmas has already begun and holiday shopping wars are kicking off as big box stores start revealing their plans for gift-giving this season. We are Stretching Your Dollar with what to expect.

Wait, Christmas sales in September? Yeah, kinda.

This morning retailers across the board announced October sales in an early bid for your holiday dollars.

“Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart have all announced sales right on top of each other for that first couple of weeks in October,” said Editor at RetailMeNot, Kristin McGrath.

Amazon will have their Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 10 and 11 for Prime members only. The other major players online will have similar dates to kick off the sales season.

McGrath explained one reason why companies may be starting early.

“These early sales offer multiple rounds of shopping, more time to hunt for deals and more time to spread out their budgets,” McGrath explained.

Amazon is highlighting deal categories like home goods, fashion, and beauty with specific deals promoted for the October event, like 60 percent off a Smart Home Security System and 50 percent off a Sony Soundbar.

Target says it will offer thousands of new items under $25 in the apparel, home and food categories during its sale.

Analysts are predicting retail sales growth to slow to almost half that of 2022. They say it’s not clear if that will then translate into bigger discounts closer to the holidays.