INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The countdown clock to Christmas and the holidays leaves many scrambling to buy last-minute gifts in what’s called “Panic Week.”

John Talbot, senior lecturer at Indiana University Kelly School of Business, joined “Daybreak” to talk about the stress that comes from buying gifts for the whole family.

“I don’t know that retailers intentionally raise prices, but certainly the things that are must-have items typically don’t get marked down as we get closer to the holidays,” Talbot said.

Desirable gifts are going to be out of stock, and definitely not marked down, Talbot said, “If there’s something that you must have, the Tickle Me Elmo of this particular holiday season, you should have already bought it.”

Most of the data surrounding Talbot looked over focused on online shopping. Sites like Amazon encourage promotions during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but those sales don’t last forever.

“You can see a deep dip in the data in terms of prices and discounts during that time period, and they tend to get off that as we get closer to Christmas,” Talbot said.

For more on “Panic Week” leading into Christmas, watch the video above.