(Reuters] – The U.S. shopper count fell more than 3.5% on Thanksgiving Weekend this year according to the National Retail Federation. This is because early discounts, product shortages, and other factors took away the sparkle from what have traditionally been the largest shopping days of year.

World’s leading retail trade group reported that 179.8 Million shoppers purchased online or in store during the Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday shopping period, which is compared to 186.4,000,000 shoppers in 2020.

To minimize losses from supply chain disruptions, many companies have encouraged consumers to begin shopping for holiday gifts as early as October.

Low consumer spending was caused by a combination of low prices and early promotional sales.

Matthew Shay CEO, NRF said that over the past few years customers have moved their holiday shopping plans so they can start earlier in season.

Adobe (NASDAQ) Analytics data released Monday morning showed that Cyber Monday spending dropped 1.4% over last year. It was the first fall ever recorded.

NRF’s survey, conducted by research firm Prosper Insights & Analytics, showed shoppers spent an average of $301.27 on holiday purchases such as gifts, toys and apparel, down from $311.75 last year.