UNITED STATES—I was recently out and about, and I could not believe my eyes. I know it is late September, so I expected to see Halloween items, but I was flabbergasted to see Christmas decorations. Yes, you heard me correctly, I saw Christmas decorations. Look, I love Christmas, however, it can also be one of the most stressful holidays in my opinion. Why? It brings lots of festivities but gift giving causes people to go into debt or pull out their hair at times.
With that said, I did not expect to see Christmas trees in the stores of this retailer. Was it too soon? For me, yes! Let us please get through Halloween before we’re thinking 2-3 holidays ahead. I mean what about Thanksgiving people, it is like we completely overlooked that holiday. The other bad thing is that you’re not getting any of these items at a discount.
I saw plenty of trees and the price of those items were expensive to say the least. There were no deals, I just feel like the retailers want to remind the consumer that Christmas is coming and you need to get prepared right now, not later and it is frustrating. Give the consumer the option to choose, without having it forced down our throats. What was crazy at the retailer is that there was more Christmas merchandise than Halloween merchandise. Guess what? Halloween is October 31. Christmas is December 25. You still have about 3 months before Christmas; Halloween on the other hand is about 4 to 5 weeks away.
Wouldn’t it be smart for the retailers to push that Halloween merchandise to get rid of those items so you’re not left with tons of inventory that delivers a loss for the business? I would think so, but retailers have become so strategized that you know when the merchandise is going to be put out. I know it like clockwork at Target. It is so bad that I know in August they are putting out Halloween stuff, as soon as Halloween arrives, the first of November they are putting Christmas stuff out.
After Christmas is over, the Valentine’s Day stuff is on the shelves, after Valentine’s Day they are putting out Easter merchandise, when Easter ends you have summer BBQ items on the shelves, and by the time June or early July comes you see school supplies being placed onto the shelves. There is something that the consumer should be fully aware of, purchase items in advance after the holiday ends. Why?
You’re going to get those items at a massive discount. If you’re purchasing Christmas items after Christmas has come you’re likely to receive 80 to 90 percent discounts on those items. The same applies for Halloween, especially if you’re someone who goes all out when it comes to decorating for certain holidays. The retailers are smart though because by tempting the consumer, they are well aware they will get the consumer to buy items even if they are not expecting the merchandise to sell as quickly.
Written By Davy Jones
