Shopping in a big box hardware store in early October I had
the pleasure of viewing Halloween decorations on one side of the aisle and
Christmas on the other. I say pleasure, because instead of fighting it, I try to
ignore the retail world’s impatience to be the first out of the gate with the
various holidays. In early October, one can tweak their Halloween decorations
while perusing the new offerings for Christmas. If someone needs replacement bulbs
at least the store is meeting the needs of its customers.
Christmas in July
Every year the rush to be the first retailer for any
particular holiday gets earlier and earlier. Can’t say when it started but it
seems like in the last five or ten years Christmas comes earlier. Soon
Christmas in July won’t be a fun summer celebration but the real thing.
The holidays themselves can’t be moved (Or can they?) Halloween
and Christmas have been set dates since ancient times. Doubtful a special
interest lobby is going to get Congress to change the dates, but you never can
tell. The commercialism of the holidays
is the variable. It comes down to being the first to grab the customer. Black
Friday sales used to start at normal business hours on the day after
Thanksgiving. Can’t move the Friday after Thanksgiving but retailers can open
their doors whenever they want. The sales started to creep earlier, beginning
at six AM, four AM, then midnight. Then the “Black Friday” sales started in the
evening hours on Thanksgiving then the morning of Thanksgiving. It starts with
one major retailer, then someone else will open earlier, then another and
another. Until the whole holiday weekend is sales, sales, sales.
Most shoppers feel that Black Friday has encroached too much
on Thanksgiving, starting too soon. But those feelings didn’t keep them away
from computers. While 2015 brick and mortar Black Friday sales were down
approximately 9%, online sales jumped 14%. (Variety of sources)
Impatience
Is it the impatience of the consumers or the retailers? What
is driving the need to get the next holiday merchandise on the shelves before
the present holiday has arrived? Although consumers will grab anything on sale, the drive for
early holiday shopping seems to be the need for retailers to capture their
market share. As individual retailers look at their bottom line the next big
promotion is driven by current sales. Didn’t do well with back to school? Get
out the Halloween stock. Don’t usually sell that much candy or ghoulish
decorations? Clear more shelves for Christmas. If a retailer knows that they
don’t do particularly well during a certain holiday they’ll try to start
snagging shoppers for the next.
Rarely do retailers advertise Christmas items on “sale”. They
just appear on the shelves next to costumes and Jack O’ Lanterns. Buyers have
little product comparison and probably feel they are getting a good deal buying
their supplies two months early.
Too much might be too much. In 2015, Target took some media heat when it
ran commercials in October that had combined Halloween/Christmas themes.
It’s like ready the Sunday comics on Saturday, it’s just not
done. Stores can stock the shelves as early as they want, I’ll at least wait
for the holiday month to start looking.
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