Christmas Creep
Low and behold, I’m not the only one noticing the early arrival of Christmas retail.
Gayle Ronan, contributor to MSNBC, wrote a front page article on how Christmas seems to be coming earlier and earlier every year. She calls the phenomenon “Christmas Creep.”
“Retailers would like to recondition consumers to shop earlier and return to the days of paying full price, which may be why they are putting out merchandise hoping it will no longer be around for discounting in December,” says William Cody, managing director of the Baker Retailing Initiative at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Condition me to pay full price? Good luck!
Like a few other guys I know, I do my best shopping on December 24th.
In an end run attempt to circumvent this new conditioning, my family has pushed Christmas back a week so we can take advantage of the after Christmas sales.
Just kidding…
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Grant-
I couldn’t agree more with your views on Christmas Creep.
1. Why not let us enjoy Thanksgiving first for gods sake! If Halloween wasn’t so commercial, they would try to obliterate that one too!
2. I have often waited until 12/24 to shop, with great effect
3. I always buy the bulk of my replacement clothes – shirts, socks etc, the days after Christmas
4. Several times I have promised to take my son shopping for Christmas gifts he wants, or that I want for him after Christmas.
So the best way to fight back to this Christmas Creep is either buy gift cards to be used after Christmas when all is on sale, and to do one’s shopping for the year at that time.
Then, by the time we are all done shopping in early January we can welcome the early onset of Valentine’s day.
David http://www.evolutionshift.com
Valentines Day! I forgot about that one!
All good points about taking advantage of those after-Christmas sales, David.
I still have to wonder how far in advance a retailer can promote Christmas without having a negative impact on sales.
-Grant
No! Don’t belittle Valentines Day!
You guys do have a point though, and Grant, I agree that there has to be a point where it is no longer advantageous to market Christmas earlier than the previous year. i just don’t know what that point is.
‘nessa