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Just so you know, it's official - 60 SHOPPING DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! - there are exactly 9 weekends left before one of the biggest gift-giving days celebrated on the entire planet.
Hey...don't curse the messenger...I'm just sayin' - and you thought Halloween was the scariest time of the year - better watch out for the Christmas Creep!
Heck, Halloween is just around the corner and I am so NOT ready!
I'm glad it's not just me, either.
Laurie is also reflecting on a last-minute Halloween shopping trip, one blank day this week, that was nearly foiled by the Chiristmas Creep:
One major retailer had already compressed the Halloween stuff into one aisle to make room for wrapping paper and ornaments. The twenty families searching through the costume racks weren't feeling especially Christmasy. Argh....couldn't the store have delayed the Christmas creep by one more day?
What is it?
The trend began about three years ago, but more retailers are joining in, said Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, a consumer behavior marketing firm in Charleston, S.C.
It's a phenomenon called "Christmas creep," according to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Hoping to catch early shoppers, retailers are extending their all-important holiday shopping season, which accounts for 25 percent to 40 percent of the year's sales.
[source]
So, what retailers are saying is that - by getting a jump on early sales and what people are buying - they can stock up and market items as "hot" and/or "must have" products.
Are you buying this stuff?
Teresa Ciulla posts in Entrepeneur Daily a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) confirms that 40 percent of consumers start shopping before Halloween and also feels a bit bugged by the rush:
Year-round shopping? If I start seeing Easter Bunnies and American flags for sale in January, I just may sceam. But if you're a smart retailer, you'll have your holiday goods out long before I think you should.
In her Shopaholic Diaries, Cherie confesses about her dismay over commercialism - as October is the new December - and how she just wants it all to stop, at least until AFTER Thanksgiving:
One of my biggest pet peeves is the stores all bringing out the holiday decorations before Thanksgiving...and now it's even before Halloween. I don't really mind them doing it before Halloween that much because it's also a commercialized holiday, but it just kills me that they do it before Thanksgiving and just skims over that holiday.
Teresa and Cherie make a really interesting point here, I think, and - although, I believe Thanksgiving is anything but "simple" in my house - having left stores frazzled and empty-handed on numerous occasions, the rush in seasonal displays does make me wonder whether or not bloggers feel it's worth all the creepy effort -- are consumers growing tired of commercialism?
Stephanie blogs - Stop the Ride (called consumer debt) - about how she believes it's easy to get caught up on the commercialism, especially if you have kids, and abides by a simple strategy for parents to approach Christmas called, "The Gift of Four":
It is a simple approach that has worked well for us. Only buy your kids four gifts. Buy them something:
1. they want
2. they need
3. that is practical
4. to help them grow spiritually.
Stephanie's approach resonated with me - she also has four kids to buy for at Christmas - and I really think that her idea is one that would work very well for my family and goes onto outline the exact reasons why:
...this plan helps to limit the commercialism and greediness for stuff that comes with the holidays. The fun and excitement are still there without the overload that comes from excess. The kids value and treasure the four gifts that they get. They don't get lost in a pile of stuff.
Most holiday and event planning experts also agree that having a plan - especially, one that works for you - and making (as well as sticking to) lists helps shoppers maintain a budget and steer clear of stress.
Avoiding the Christmas Creep, not so much.
e.Premium.net - a home-based and online business blog - suggests there are signs that the Christmas Creep really does exist:
Every year I start to see the same signs around the end of September/beginning of October and this year is no different:
• My wholesale search engines start to serve noticeably more search results each day.
• My wholesale directory sites start to attract more visitors and members.
• I start getting
