Chart of the spendings over holidays
by Lily Harris
Stores start putting Christmas decorations out before Thanksgiving, and most retail stores start displaying Christmas items before Halloween, and it’s not just because they forgot about Thanksgiving; there is a true reason.
It’s called the Christmas Creep, a merchandising phenomenon in which merchants and retailers exploit the commercialized status of Christmas by introducing Christmas-themed merchandise or decorations before the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, which used to be the day after Thanksgiving. The term was first used in the mid-1980s.
Christmas is normally the peak of the selling season for retailers. Pre-Christmas increase in spending is even greater, and there has been a November–December buying surge of 100% in bookstores and 170% in jewelry stores.
It is said the reason for early displays is because of an economic crisis and the retailers are fighting for customer dollars. Others say that the growth of online shopping is the cause for the fights over money.
In 2004, employment in American retail stores rose from 1.6 million jobs to 1.8 million jobs in the two months leading up to Christmas.
According to Vox.com, statistics show that the earlier the shopping season starts, the more a retailer is willing to spend. The University of Missouri found that the average person spends $6.50 more every day earlier that Thanksgiving falls each year.
The Christmas Creep even occurs in music. Holiday music used to be played through the whole month of December, but since 2001, most radio stations have started playing Christmas music around Thanksgiving or even the weeks prior.
A recent study from the Harvard Business Review said that most people don’t get annoyed by the early sales. However, this is not always the case.
“I do get annoyed with the early ads,” said frequent shopper Susan Thompson. “Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I get tired of seeing Christmas commercials before Thanksgiving.”