By Wesleigh Mowry, Senior Design & Content Strategist
It’s mid-October. Pumpkin spice is in the air, and trick-or-treat is right around the corner. You head to your local home goods store to look for cute Halloween decorations, hoping to find a ceramic pumpkin, a mug with a ghost or even a spooky black cat candy dish. But as you step inside, something feels wrong. Jingle Bells is playing. The store is overflowing with artificial pine trees, Santa figurines and Hanukkah supplies. With a shudder, you realize you’re face-to-face with…THE HOLIDAY CREEP.
Stores have begun stocking for Christmas and winter holidays earlier and earlier each year, to the point that seeing stockings in shops before Halloween feels like a nightmare. It hasn’t always been this way — so why are the holidays creeping up the calendar? The reasons aren’t as scary as you think, and may even entice you to start your brand’s holiday marketing before the pumpkins have left the porch.
⭐ The Golden Quarter
The majority of retail profits are made in the fourth quarter of the year. Brands looking to capitalize on holiday spending should get a jump-start and not wait until post-Thanksgiving shoppers are out.
🛍️ Spread Out the Spending
Budgets can be tight, and consumers are spreading holiday costs over multiple paychecks. Recent research showed that “nearly half of surveyed holiday shoppers had started or planned to start before the end of October.” If consumers are shopping earlier, brands need to be ready.
🎁 Scarcity and Hype
If you lived through the Tickle Me Elmo craze, when holiday shopping became an extreme sport and a nightly news story, you know the importance of getting the hottest gifts early. Brands that want their holiday offerings to gain virality, be on best-of lists or become the coveted present of the season need to make their presence known.
🎉 Make People Happy
The earlier holiday decorations are put up, the longer they can be enjoyed! By embracing the holiday season early, brands can help bring joy to their audience throughout the season and even into the new year.
Don’t let the holiday creep spoil your end-of-year cheer. Meet your audience where they are — even if that’s thinking about Christmas in October. Besides, Mariah Carey is already thawing.