With tighter inventories and fewer late-season sales expected this year, many shoppers aren’t waiting for new deals to come around, say experts. Indeed, more people started their shopping earlier this year to snap up sales: By late October, the National Retail Federation estimates that nearly 40% of shoppers will have already started their shopping. That’s 2 percentage points more than last year’s rate, a figure the industry group says has barely budged in years…READ MORE.