Why Does Xmas Come Early in Retailville?

If you think merchants are putting up those holiday decorations earlier every year, you’re right.

The gap between Halloween and holiday cheer is certainly shrinking.

“The pumpkins are wearing the Christmas ornaments, just about,” notes Denise Flores with a wry smile as she enjoys a manicure at Urban Retreat spa.

“We normally start our (seasonal) advertising the day after Thanksgiving,” says spa owner Francie Willis. “This year we're starting two weeks earlier.”

But before you blame retailers and service providers, take a look in the mirror.

“It's basically a fundamental change in consumer behavior,” says Vikas Mittal, professor of marketing at Rice University’s Jones School of Business.

Mittal says stores are only following the lead of consumers, who are doing their holiday shopping sooner.

According to ComScore Data, in 2000 the peak online shopping day was December 18.

By 2004, online shopping hit its high point on December 13.

Last year, December 9 was the single biggest day.

Why are we all shopping earlier? Because we can, says Mittal.

Before the advent of the web, he explains, people needed a big block of time to complete their holiday gift shopping. The Thanksgiving break fit the bill perfectly, and retailers built their marketing around that time frame

“Now, with the internet,” Mittal says, “even though I don't get time off from work specifically, every day I can make some time off” to shop online.

Offline retailers, sometimes called “brick and mortar” stores, are compelled to compete with this accelerated timetable, he notes.