Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Shops getting into Christmas spirit early

|
|
 
  
(UPI Photo Files) 
License photo
Published: Sept. 28, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Advertisement

BOSTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Ready or not, U.S. retailers are pushing the Christmas shopping season earlier this year to make up for slow summer sales, a marketing expert said.

"Everyone's fighting for that Christmas dollar. The recession has only exacerbated the problem," Babson College marketing professor Michael Levy said.

Sears started as early as July, making some display items, like artificial trees, available on layaway, The Boston Globe reported Monday.

Two weeks ago, Rite Aid stores were stocked with Christmas decorations and tins of cookies with a sign that said "The joys of winter never melt away."

But wary consumers call the practice of pushing the holiday buying spree earlier each year, "Christmas Creep." Some are not pleased to be goaded into shopping before its traditional time.

"You can't get in the Christmas spirit in September, man,'' said Woburn, Mass., resident Manny Hernandez.

"Crazy, all this stuff so early," he said. "I don't even think about it until after Thanksgiving, if I'm lucky.''

Topics: Michael Levy
Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Protesters, police clash at NATO summit Notable deaths of 2012 2012 Billboard Music Awards
The 137th Preakness Stakes Annual Solar eclipse occurs in U.S. Chen Guangcheng arrives in the U.S.
Additional Business News Stories
1 of 29
FORT LAUDERDALE HOSTS FLEET WEEK
View Caption
Crew members of the USS Kearsarge, Bryane Ingram, Timothy Williams, Curtilious Ingram and Yosuf Hill (l to r) prepare for shore leave shortly after docking at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on April 30, 2007. The Kearsarge and her crew will participate in Fleet Week USA as part of the McDonalds Air and Sea Show. (UPI Photo/Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell)
fark
Bizarre legal case involving a mysterious billionaire could force 1 million Quebecois to be married,...
Sorry about the 5 years you spent in prison because I falsely accused you of rape. Wanna be friends...
Woman fined for damaging telemarketer's hearing after blowing whistle into phone. Whatever the fine...
Hottest new game show around: School Food or Prison Food? Warning: may induce nausea and vomiting...
Old and busted: Low-carb junk food. New hotness: Gluten free junk food
A word to the wise: Burning down Home Depot won't save your friend's hardware store