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Christmas so soon? Decorations already on display

Posted October 12, 2007 11:00 pm

Jacqueline Koch

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

In retail stores, that is. Which is somewhat frightening considering Halloween hasn't yet come and gone.

In what has become known as the "Christmas creep," the holiday season is slowly sneaking into retail stores earlier each year.

At J.C. Penney in Northwoods Mall, Halloween costumes hang near Christmas trees and toy soldier nutcrackers.

The large display in the center of first floor went up in mid-September, said store manager Tom Tuor.

But he doesn't think consumers actively seek tinsel and trees.

"I think it's more impulse this time of year," he said.

Since September, other local stores have displayed yuletide wares, not so much to persuade consumers to purchase them as to remind them Christmas is coming. And they certainly don't want to overlook Halloween sales.

Gus Anchondo, the store manager of Target on Big Hollow Road, doesn't think buying Christmas decor stops people from purchasing Halloween items. In fact, he said, the two complement one another.

"I think that people that are into decorating are going to do both and are going to buy both," he said.

Target attracts customers wanting outdoor decorations, including trees, lights, snow globes and reindeer, Anchondo said. Sales have been fairly consistent with past years, he said.

"I think, with weather, they want to try and get it out on their lawns before they have to try to deal with it during snow or storms," he said.

So what prompts the early buying season?

"I think people have learned that the good stuff, the stuff that's popular every year, gets picked over," he said. "You never know if it's going to be something that's replenished quickly or if at all."

Kirlin's Hallmark in Northwoods Mall sold its traditional Christmas ornaments in July, when the company premiered them.

Store manager Christine Quinn said she's seen shopping season shift during the last few years.

"I feel that people are buying earlier and earlier every year," she said.

Hallmark has sold snowmen statues, snow globes and Christmas clocks, in addition to other decorative items, since September.

Quinn said she doesn't think those goods hinder sales of Halloween or Thanksgiving items.

"When they come in to buy Halloween things, they might see Christmas stuff at the same time," she said.

But a recent study showed that holiday sales may not be as merry as retailers would hope.

Market research firm NPD Group found that 41 percent of consumers don't expect to start holiday shopping until after Thanksgiving.

"I spotted the first holiday setup in a store on August 18th this year … that's nearly a month earlier than last year," said NPD Chief Industry Expert Marshal Cohen in a news release.

"Retailers are looking to start the season earlier but consumers just aren't ready."

Impulse shopping, which traditionally accounts for about one-fourth of holiday sales, dropped to 19 percent last year.

"This year, we'll be lucky to hit 17 percent," Cohen said.

Jacqueline Koch can be reached at (309) 686-3251 or jkoch@pjstar.com.

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