Holiday shopping hits stores earlier. It oppresses us.
When it comes to holiday shopping, if you’re early, you may be too late.
Many retail stores have started preparing for the upcoming holidays earlier than ever. Halloween items hit the shelves in early August, and Christmas and Hanukkah decorations appeared in October or even September.
If shoppers wait too long to shop for holiday-related items, they may find stores have moved on to the next big event, leaving fewer options.
It’s almost as if the year is moving too fast, adding to consumer stress, a psychologist told USA TODAY.
How are holiday marketing trends changing?
Holiday marketing online and in stores has grown over the past few years, experts say. While the change is true for holidays year-round, it’s especially so during the big business holidays toward the end of the year, from Halloween to New Year’s Eve.
Before the pandemic, “most of the holiday sales in stores started after Halloween,” said Sky Canaves, chief retail analyst at eMarketer. “That’s what we think of as the traditional holiday sales period: November and December. But because the pandemic disrupted supply chains so much, we started getting holiday sales everywhere.”
There are many reasons for retailers to encourage stocking shelves before the holidays.
“First of all, the consumer is accepting to buy products earlier,” said Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData, a research and analytics company. “And second, there’s a lot of competition in the market right now. Amazon’s sales days in October are almost like the start of the holiday season.”
The fall/winter holiday season is one of the most lucrative for retail companies, and retailers can do “most of their sales in the fourth quarter during the eight-week holiday period,” in said Canaves. “Even more for online shopping.”
Online sales during the holiday season are expected this year to grow at the fastest pace since 2021, according to eMarketer’s preliminary retail sales report.
Consumers are still cautious when it comes to shopping, however, and many families are looking to cut costs or have less money than usual, Saunders said.
But consumers in general will still shop for holidays and events.
“Dealers rely heavily on them because they know it generates sales and interest in what is not a flat and down market,” Saunders said. “That’s not always good for consumers, but a lot of marketers are paying a lot of attention to, ‘What’s next?’ They always try to think ahead.”
But the holiday marketing cycle may be “a permanent shift in the marketing and sales calendar ahead of time,” Canaves said. “It’s also changing consumer behavior because consumers, especially now that they’re more financially conscious, can spread their spending a little more if they can.”
Also:‘I love when deals are announced’: Why holiday shoppers are getting an early start this year
Why holiday advertising can stress us out
Stores that prepare for the holidays in advance can help consumers spread the word, but the holiday marketing cycle can be stressful for consumers.
Retailers can “build a false sense of urgency” around holiday shopping, said Kristina Durante, a psychologist and marketing professor at Rutgers Business School.
Feeling the urge to buy something as soon as possible can encourage consumers to spend more.
“There are so many things you can use there. It’s that sense of urgency and lack of resources,” Durante said. “We don’t know when they’re going to go down because we have no control over what other customers are doing. I think we want to have a good Christmas and we want to have a good Halloween and we want to prepare for back to school We have high expectations for these things, so we are motivated to buy.
Nostalgia can also add to stress during the holidays, creating pressure to buy.
On average, most people have fond memories from their childhood centered around the holidays, Durante said, “and we try to recreate that for ourselves and our children.”
Shopping is often related to a stress response, Durante said.
“It’s stressful,” Durante said. “One of the things we know is that the basis of almost everything we buy is the desire to control our lives. In today’s world, everything the other is uncertain, and we want to have some sense of control over things.”
Tips for managing holiday and shopping stress
Consumers’ sense of control when shopping is fleeting, Durante said.
When it comes to mental health, “if we can’t manage our stress, then we have an emotional problem,” he said. “We’re trying to control and gain control. One way we can do that is to go out and buy things. It seems like this would solve the problem, but it really doesn’t.”
There are steps consumers can take to ease the stress of the holiday marketing season — and maybe even stick to budget.
When people stop to think about what they can control, “they spend less money,” Durante said.
Clients can take a moment to write down a few positive things about their life, he said. Physical activity also helps.
“Go for a walk,” Durante said. “Even getting your body moving a little will help break the cycle of stress so you can relax a little.”
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