Is the Christmas season getting earlier every year, and if so why?

Whether you love Christmas or not, you’ve probably thought at some point that the festive season comes around to the retail world more quickly each year. Is this true, and if so, what are the factors that cause it?

Attention grabbing offers and seasonal themes

Christmas is a great time of year for retailers to grab the attention of consumers with special offers and seasonal themes.

Some reports suggest that retailers tend to begin this season earlier each year, as they look to get better organised and catch the early shoppers who want to get the best offers in November or early December.

The fact that Christmas deals are put online is another reason why the festive offers can be seen earlier, as we can now find Christmas themes virtually all year round.

If you look at the example of an online casino, you’ll see themed slots based on the different holidays including Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. They promote the games that best fit the current time of year, but you can find Christmas-themed at any time of year if you look for them.

These Christmas slots include many of the festive period's top images like Santa, snow, and trees.

The Christmas creep on candy explained

One of the points that a lot of people wonder about is whether it’s true that Christmas candy is put on sale earlier each year. This look at the effect of Christmas creep suggests that the likes of candy canes and other festive treats are appearing earlier each year, with major retailers relying on this as one of their biggest earning periods.

Hershey is said to make a quarter of their total sales in the last couple of months of the year, while supermarkets are happy to stock a lot of relatively cheap candy that they know people love.

As soon as one retailer starts stocking festive candy early, others will follow suit to lower the risk of missing out on this crucial period of sales.

People want to start shopping earlier

Perhaps the biggest reason of all is also the simplest; that consumers enjoy shopping for Christmas gifts and treats.

A look at the psychological aspect of Christmas shopping throws up pros and cons, as it can be stressful but also enjoyable. For many people, getting this activity sorted out early is the best approach, allowing them to enjoy the build-up to the big day safe in the knowledge that the hard work is already done.

Attractive Christmas markets like the Denver and Chicago Christkindlmarkets help to add to the appeal and encourage shoppers to take a look around. These markets typically open a few weeks before Christmas and provide a welcome opportunity to sample the Christmas spirit and find unusual gifts when we're still feeling relaxed about the holidays.

As long as shoppers feel the need to start their Christmas shopping early, retailers are going to make sure that they’ve got the products and themed decorations to meet this demand.

It’s true that some aspects of the festive period are creeping forward, but in other cases, this may be an illusion based on the fact that we can now see so many offers online.