You visit your local Wal-Mart/Target in August. The Back-To-School items are stocked on the shelves, summer items are on sale, and pumpkin flavored items are now in your shopping carts. While you are walking through the aisles, you spot the Christmas section. The trees are standing high and bright with lights, the singing Santas and snowmen are serenading giddy Christmas fans, and the wrapping paper is ready to wrap your gifts.
“WHY ARE THEY ADVERTISING CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER?!” Much of society questions why businesses advertise the holidays early as July and August. Why are businesses campaigning earlier of the holiday season?
More and more business are competing against each other. the National Retail Federation reported a 4 percent increase in 2014 holiday retail sales totaling $616.1 billion. Businesses that fail to maximize the holiday shopping season miss a huge revenue opportunity. People like to plan their budget and research the best deals during the holiday season. The sooner marketing campaigns are pitched, the more likely the brand will receive more revenue within the holiday season.
There is also the controversy of businesses opening their stores during Thanksgiving. Last year, Nordstrom took a stance and closed their doors for Thanksgiving and opened early Friday morning. This year, big chains such as Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Target, Best Buy and more will open on Thanksgiving as early as 3pm-5pm. While some stores are against this idea, it’s more of a revenue goldmine for others. Some consumers love this idea so they won’t have to shop at 3am on Friday.
Stores are claiming that they are giving what the customers want. “What the customer has been telling us is that she likes the defined times” to shop, Martine Reardon, chief marketing officer at Macy’s in New York. Businesses are competing neck-to-neck to bring the best revenue of the season, even if it means to pitch Black Friday sales as early as September and to open on Thanksgiving.
It’s a race to the finish line for businesses during the holiday season. The more they get a head start, the more revenue they may eventually rack up. If you hope that CEO’s will be willing to stop opening stores on Thanksgiving day or stop selling holiday items during August, you will see this trend for quite a while. It’s all about getting the first word to the consumer.
Happy Holidays!
