With the start of October just around the corner, Halloween items are popping up in stores and Halloween decor is taking over retail displays around the country. But what about Christmas? Some retailers are putting out Christmas items already, an act that causes some people to roll their eyes in annoyance.
“Can’t they wait until after Thanksgiving to put out Christmas stuff?” they ask.
With many retailers facing stiff competition, the topic of when to display Christmas items can be a sticky subject. If you wait too long, your competitors could score a sale that might have gone to you. But if you decorate and put out items too early, you could offend shoppers and send them elsewhere.
If you are a retailer wanting to capitalize on the busiest season of the year, you may be wondering when you can start to display your Christmas merchandise. Here’s a quick guide to Christmas retail display best practices.
Always keep your customers in mind; each market will be different. Some retailers traditionally keep specific Christmas decor out year-round or put it out super early. Families may even have traditions around buying those items.
Put out Christmas merchandise in a discreet place. For example, if you know that Christmas books sell well earlier in the year, you can put them out with the other books. Then move them to a Christmas display closer to the holiday.
Start with the minimal decor at the beginning of November and slowly add to it. This reduces your holiday workload and starts preparing your store for the season without being too gimmicky.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to score Christmas sales before your competitors, but also try to be respectful of the people who are against the practice.
The practice of putting Christmas items out as early as possible is called the Christmas creep. If you creep into putting out decorations and Christmas themed items it is the best way to go. Many retailers choose to start putting things out a few pieces at a time and then going into full Christmas decor closer to the holiday.
Are you planning to put up Christmas retail displays soon? Have you done it already? We would love to know!
At Joslin Displays, we have everything you need for your retail displays. If you need to purchase some new display items for your Christmas merchandise this year, head over to our home page to see what we have in stock!