It’s November first, you know what that means…. time to switch out those pumpkin spice lattes for some peppermint bark right? But wait, Halloween was just yesterday, how do all the stores already have out Santa hats and fancy string lights? What happened to the pumpkin pies and turkey hats? Are we just going to pass over Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas carols?!
According to Bob Phibbs, retailers and mass marketers tend to be so aggressive for the promoting of big set holiday’s such as Halloween and Christmas, because most customers begin planning out and budgeting for the holidays early into the season to better prepare financially. The New York Times even jokes that Christmas Shopping has become somewhat of a competitive sport through the years. Our society of fast paced, immediate satisfaction has put more stress on retailers to get ahead of the market to increase profits as much as possible.
Now, there is somewhat of a saving grace for Thanksgiving, being that the day after is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Black Friday does dial back the Christmas frenzy, however, much of the shopping done on that day is in preparation for the bigger holidays. Holiday’s such as Christmas and Halloween have much more promotional opportunity and sellable products than Thanksgiving, so naturally retailers tend to capitalize on that. For many companies to stay float and prominent in the buyer/seller market, they must constantly stay ahead of the current market.
So, if you are still wanting to keep your fall decorations up, or were planning on buying more, you might want to hurry to your closest Target or Walmart because soon the flip from fall leaves and pumpkin spice will be replaced with twinkle lights and eggnog. Good news is, there’s a high chance that Halloween costume for next year is about 70 percent off right now, so start thinking ahead and grab it while its still there!
For more information on holiday marketing feel free to explore these sites:
https://www.retaildoc.com/why-retailers-should-display-holiday-merchandise-before-halloween
https://www.nytimes.com/010/11/01/business/media/01adco.html?ref=oembed
– Olivia Austin
IMC Hawks Blog 