Christmas is typically the largest economic stimulus for many nations around the world as sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas. The United States’ retail industry generated over three trillion U.S. dollars during the holidays in 2013. These holiday sales reflected about 19.2 percent of the retail industries total sales that year. As a result, just over 768 thousand employees were hired throughout the United States to compensate for the holiday rush. The Christmas shopping season can start as early as September and some consumers begin even earlier.