The Christmas Story
It is the beginning of September and that means the start of Christmas. Or does it? Hopefully people realize that Christmas is not for another four months. Most cannot help but think that Christmas is right around the corner. Where ever you go right now Christmas displays are up and holiday items are being advertised. If you walk into Wal-Mart at the start of September you can already buy decorations and toys for the holidays. J.C Penny, Toys R Us, and Target also are putting out their Christmas merchandise in hopes that they will boost sales. Do you want to see Christmas lights, ornaments, Santa Clause, and elves in the summer? Now that is the question one must ask themselves. There are a lot of people that like getting their holiday shopping over with before the rush. The National Retail Federation survey said that more then 21% of shoppers do some Christmas shopping before the end of September. Really though, is Christmas in September a good idea? It might be for retailers but it is debatable for the consumers.
If people know that things that go on sale early might not be around come Christmas time, they will buy it now and save it for later. The scarcity of the products will motivate consumers. This in turn makes the stores benefit. Even though it is not freezing or that merry time of the year, buying your Christmas gifts now is not a bad idea. However, before we know it, people will be seeing Easter merchandise in all the stores as well.
1 comment:
I've always thought it was stupid to have Christmas stuff on sale this early. It's a little ridiculous, but then you start to think how fast time really does go. Before we know it, it is going to be Christmas. And really, it is a good idea that they start the sale now. Otherwise, EVERYONE would be scrambling to the store in the month of December and they would be packed with people but sold out. So it's obvious why stores start the sale of Christmas decorations early (in fact, i work in retail and at the end of this month, we are going to start preparing for the holiday season). If they had everyone come to their store at once, it would be mass chaos. And also starting in September gives them the chance to turn around and obtain more stock of a particular item that is "going fast." It's like starting now gives them a heads up or a preview for the winter months. I personally love Christmas time, so seeing the stuff so soon gives me hope that it is coming upon us quickly (not necessarily right around the corner), but at the same time I've always said, "Do they not realize what month it is?! Why do they have Christmas stuff out already?"
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