Christmas in October?

Isn't it a little ridiculous to see holiday decorations before Halloween? Not according to Lowe's who launched their seasonal set up a full week before October 31st. They claim consumers are starting their shopping sooner and need to accommodate the demand. Holiday decorations and shopping used to commence the day after Thanksgiving right? Doesn't anyone remember "Black Friday?" AdAge blames Wal-Mart, who in 2005 started their holiday campaign November 1st, a full three weeks ahead of black Friday. This year the strategy has been repeated, but with many companies following suit. Even Best Buy had print ads in October issues of magazines. $457 billion is expected in holiday shopping this year (Adage) so it is no wonder companies are trying to tap into that as soon as possible. As a consumer there some issues with this: how often do you promise yourself you are going to get done early, and you do. But then sometime between being done and the actual holiday you find more things that you know your family or friends would love so you get those things too. This is why starting early never works, you just end up buying more gifts!!! And of course this is great for the companies. Who doesn't want to end up selling more than intended? But there is also a fear that a company could offend their consumer. The ads and holiday excitement quickly grow tired. People get sick of seeing the holiday crap, while others get irritated that the company is pushing the hype on them so early. Home Depots Chief Marketing Officer is well aware and said "We want each holiday to have it's time. We thought going before Halloween could backfire on us. We want to maintain the integrity of each holiday. If you go too early you can violate the sensibilities of the public and people can sometimes resent that." There is something to be said for this. Aren't companies losing some of their profits by skipping holidays? And he's right, I don't want to start thinking about Christmas before the Holiday season actually starts. Although, I know on some level it must be working because I actually saw a Christmas Tree in someones window the other day. How sad...