The shopping world in October is full of surprises. In addition to the expected (Halloween and fall merchandise), shoppers may see the first installment of Black Friday and holiday promotions. In fact, we saw some of the first Black Friday sale announcements just before Halloween last year.

Additionally, this year Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy have all announced their first holiday sales in the first half of October this year.

So in addition to looking for Halloween candy and fall decorations, shoppers should start thinking about October as a time to make holiday shopping lists.

To help you take advantage of the best discounts, we used internal discount data to calculate the average discounts shoppers can expect in popular categories in October.

1. Home & Garden – Crafts/DIY (Average Discount: 31% Off)
Fall/Halloween decorations and DIY crafts are hugely popular in October because of the spooky season. While October 31st is definitely the best time to buy paintable pumpkins, wreath-making supplies, and other Halloween-making essentials, you'll still find tons of deals throughout the month. Craft stores like Michaels and JOANN are generous with coupons. In fact, we recently spotted 30% off regular-priced items at Michaels.

Even if your home DIY project isn't tied to the season, you can get discounts on DIY yard and home decor projects during the month of October. Keep an eye on Lowe’s and Home Depot – we typically see both companies launching fall-themed sales around this time of year.

2. Electronic products (average discount: 26%)
There's a caveat to this category: If you wait until Black Friday, you may find even better prices on electronics, especially TVs and game consoles. However, with Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale taking place on October 10-11 (Walmart, Best Buy, and Target are also launching their own competing sales around these dates), the end of October will be the time for electronics. The best chance.

In particular, check out Amazon's deals on electronics (smart speakers, tablets, and home security devices) during Prime Big Deal Days. Meanwhile, Best Buy has hinted that its 48-hour event will offer deals on headphones, laptops and smartwatches. Walmart has revealed that it will be offering deals on the Apple Watch and several TVs during its holiday sale from October 9-12.

So consider the early sales for your first round of holiday shopping — and the chance to buy that electronic gadget you've been meaning to buy for yourself (or maybe give as a gift to someone else). Then, think of Black Friday as round two and an opportunity to complete your gift list.

3. Clothing, casual clothing (average discount: 24% Off)
Don't get your hopes up for the massive sales we saw last year as retailers stocked up on work-from-home apparel with leftover pandemic stock. But October is still a smart time to shop for casual clothing.

First, there is the seasonal factor. At the end of October, retailers will begin to shift away from fall clothing and toward bulkier winter coats and sweaters. That means all the trendy fall items we've been telling you to wait for are now the smartest purchases you can make. Denim jackets, jeans, lightweight hoodies and transitional tops line the sales racks. You can probably still get some use out of these pieces this season—transitional fall clothing is perfect for early spring, too. Not sure where to shop? Old Navy, Gap and Kohl's are known for their extensive merchandise selections and generous end-of-season sales. ?

Plus, remember how Amazon, Target, and Walmart scrambled to have big sales during the first two weeks of October? You'll find great deals on clothing during these sales. On Amazon, expect deals from fashion brands sold on its marketplace, as well as Amazon's own brands. Target expects up to 40% off select apparel (details are still scarce, but we've seen up to 40% off fashion items during previous Circle Week sales).

4. Gifts (average discount: 24% Off)

For the past few years, retailers have been getting closer to Black Friday shopping week by week. So, sales were down before we were really ready for Black Friday.

So what’s on sale? While retailers may be reserving their most coveted items for Black Friday itself, you can expect to see at least a ton of early sales on the items you want on Black Friday. Buy as a gift long before the actual Black Friday.

So make your gift list now and stay vigilant (we definitely will) so you're ready for the Pre-Black Friday sales and October Black Friday sales. Walmart, Amazon Target, Costco and other retailers may be giving away various offers to entice early shopping.

5. Toys (average discount: 17% off)
Toys are likely to sell out during the holiday rush, so getting in early ensures you have your child's wish list packed and ready to go.

Why buy toys in October? Retailers have a tradition of hyping things up by hosting toy shopping events (with special discounts) in October. In addition, some brands will launch pre-Black Friday sales in October, and these sales tend to focus on toy sales.