I ducked into the Apple store at a local mall last weekend to get my iPhone fixed. Lining the mall, the trees were trimmed, the holiday tunes were humming and credit cards were working overtime. This was just a few days after Halloween. I was having a hard time conjuring up warm holiday spirit feelings like the ones elicited by the photo above. In fact, I channeled Scrooge to anyone who would listen…like the poor people that had just come in to check their email because they were still out of power from a freak snowstorm.
It seems the holiday season encroaches earlier and earlier each year. No wonder this time of year has been dubbed, the Holiday Creep – the commercial phenomenon created by retailers that accelerates the start of the holiday shopping season.
Yes, it’s that time again. If you’ve ventured into the stores lately, you’d better watch out and you’d better not pout. But not all stores sign on early. A while back, Apartment Therapy posted a notice from Nordstrom Department Store that read:
Nordstrom’s is obviously not the norm. They even have an eco-friendly policy and a great shoe department.
According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 40 percent of Americans plan to start their holiday shopping before Halloween, and nearly 40 percent start in November. So, not only does the holiday creep wreck havoc on our waistlines, it’s invading the spirit by prancing in before the turkey.
Instead of the holiday creep with its ceramic Santas and faux-pine trees, right about now couldn’t we just gear up for a season of peace? I could really get behind this. I might even break my retail diet, hit a few local stores, and throw up a peaceful decoration or two. It’s much more dazzling, and so much less creepy, don’t you think?
Is the early arrival of holiday hoopla in some stores an attempt to cash in over a longer period of time to make up for lagging sales? If that’s the case, should consumers follow suit by jumping on the bandwagon and decking the halls earlier? When does Rudolph start ringing the sleigh bells in your nest?
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