As the heat of the summer begins to fade and fall is upon us, every year, something always stays the same. Retail stores overflow their shelves with Christmas galore. Why is this? Is it because they want to celebrate the magic of Christmas early, or is the reason more sinister? Christmas is called the season of giving, yet ironically, for stores, it’s the season of taking.
What makes the Christmas season so special? Is it the carefully wrapped presents under the tree, the colorful lights that engulf people’s houses, or is it the sprinkle of snow on the ground? It’s these ideas that make it easy to trick the common consumer into opening up their wallet. According to Capital One Shopping research, “45% of Americans began their 2024 holiday shopping in October.” The primary reason for this is that stores make the strategic decision to capitalize on consumers’ emotional attachment to the holiday to boost profits. By starting the “celebration” of Christmas early, it drives people to begin their shopping before December.
When you see decorations set up in October, it’s not because the stores actually want to sell you bundles of lights and trees, but instead to evoke the feeling of Christmas inside you. In doing this, they can get you in the “buying mood,” which will help them sell their products. It’s why you see Macy’s, Walmart, and Target set up their Christmas decorations so early. They want to trigger the holiday joy to encourage you to spend money. In a study conducted by Julia M. Land, people who visited a store decorated for Christmas and one without decorations showed a connection between the decorated store and increased spending. We, as a society, will spend more money if we feel engulfed in the spirit of the holiday. The Christmas spirit is strong for many, and a store’s goal is to bring that feeling out of hibernation and, as a result, get you to spend more money.
It begs the question, if people keep seeing the same thing every year, why don’t they stop their patterns? Well, holidays often come with stress. This deepens the emotional attachment to Christmas, and breaking these habits can be tricky. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, retail stores can exploit us even more. Having a sentimental attachment to Christmas is exactly what they want to hear. Instead, that attachment to Christmas should naturally merge into the holiday season rather than going on a shopping spree.
Additionally, stores benefit greatly from today’s market. While it may not be everyone’s favorite, it does have its pluses for corporations. With inflation and supply and demand being unpredictable, many are making impulse purchases. Instead of waiting until December, people get things done early because they fear prices will rise or items will be out of stock. Corporations play into this, which helps them take even more money from consumers during the holiday season.
Retail stores strategically hammer this idea that the holiday season is about spending hundreds of dollars to enhance the spirit of Christmas. This isn’t what Christmas is about. In the present, big-time corporations use strategies to control the narrative in their favor. This results in us falling into a loop of believing ’tis the season to spend rather than the real meaning of Christmas.
