Among the many pet peeves consumers have about the way retailers do business is the promotion of Christmas sales way before the actual holiday selling season begins in their minds.
Some merchants have run "Christmas in July" promotions and it has become commonplace for retailers to announce holiday discounts well before kids have headed out on their candy-collecting rounds for Halloween.
A report on the DailyFinance site listed "promoting Christmas items before Thanksgiving" among the 15 most annoying habits of retailers.
According to Consumer Reports, only eight percent of consumers plan to have all their Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. Roughly one-in-four expects to have all their shopping done right after the holiday.
"Our readers are pretty divided on the whole Christmas Creep thing," Chris Morran, senior editor at Consumerist.com, told Advertising Age. "There are those that find it truly offensive and gaudy and unnecessary. And there are those that don't care at all and those that actually like it. ... People are, sadly, getting used to it."
Mike Gatti, exec director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, told Ad Age that more merchants are getting out early with their promotions this year. "It's a chance to get out there and grab some market share," he said.
Discussion Question: What do you see as the pros and cons of early Christmas promotions?