Nordstrom has conquered the urge to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving. The retailer announced its decision to respect the calendar and common sense by hanging signs declaring that they will wait until the day after Thanksgiving, the earliest acceptable moment, to display their Christmas decorations. The vainglorious announcement is an important indicator that Nordstrom’s competitors have overdone the unseasonable cheerfulness schtick.
[Image thanks to Celeste!]
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Yeah, my sister-in-law worked for Nordstrom for 10 years, and I can most assuredly tell you she never worked Thanksgiving. She was up around 5 am on Black Friday and into work by 6:30 – 7.
I work at Long’s and we had the Halloween candy out along with the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations all in one aisle.
It’s not even Thanksgiving and all the related merch has been 50% off for at least 2 weeks.
There goes Nordstroms, going to war against Christmas!
Just wait until Bill O’Reilly hears about this. I’ll bet he issues a Bill O-Boycott against those smarmy libruls!
To be truthful, I will be working until midnight Wednesday to get ready for black friday, but don’t have to come until late afternoon that day because of it. They take good care of their people.
@witeowl:
No, I am in my forties, and I am and have been very observant. People have been saying “Christmas gets earlier every year” at least since the seventies when I first heard it. My personal observation over the years during the seventies and eighties is that Christmas retailing starts tricking in in October, floods in after Halloween (or a few days before Halloween, then peaks and plateaus after thanksgiving.
That’s every year for the past twenty five years at least.
I challenge anyone to come up with historical retail industry data that shows Christmas creep.
I think the standard response to “you hate Christmas” if you don’t like Christmas Creep should be “you hate giving thanks for another year of life!” Seriously, people need to stop trampling over Thanksgiving.
@yahonza:
Would a Wal~Mart spokesman do?
“Although our busiest Christmas sales weeks will occur in November and December, we have been placing a selective sampling of our Christmas items into stores early in the season for several years,” confirms Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Raddohl.
[www.citynews.ca]
I think the problem here is you see the first item of Christmas as being proof that creep does not exist and the rest of us see the flood of items as proof it does.
The flood has been coming earlier every year. Maybe it is global warming that is causing this.
I am telling you, b@trollkiller:
I used to really believe in Christmas Creep. But after hearing it being complained about for decades, I came to realize that if it were actually true, Christmas would be starting in January by now.
I suspect it actually runs in cyclical trends, but the pattern will always be the same.
Your quote only proves my point: before November there is a “selective sampling” or a trickle of Christmas items. The flood happens after Halloween. Nothing new there.
Also, Thanksgiving is not in the way of christmas retialing because 1) it is not a decoration holiday to the extent of Halloween and Xmas, and 2) Thanksgiving is a the first holiday in the Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s eve trifecta, all part of The Holiday Season.
@yahonza: You remember Christmas starting much earlier than I do. I have too many papers to grade tonight to do much research on the topic, but here’s a little:
This newspaper article cites the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and America’s Research Group, a consumer behavior marketing firm: [www.signonsandiego.com]
This site has comments from a marketing professor at Wichita State University: [www.wichita.edu]
Hard data? No, I don’t have it. I’d hazard that those professors are basing their statements on something concrete, though.
Good for Nordstrom! I heard Christmas music today. Now, it’s just about the right time right now, but do they HAVE to play it before Thanksgiving?
Awesome. I’m buying everything from Nordstrom’s his year.
It is weird the day after halloween they were already putting up the christmas stuff up at walmart. I believe kmart as well. I don’t know about anyone else but thats too dang early. But if you figure how badly some companies are doing this year, it makes sense they are trying to extend the shopping season. Hopefully that means better bargains, but probably not.
@Maulleigh: If they didn’t put up a sign, everyone would be pestering them about it, so lighten up. They’re a business, for Pete’s sake, not some self-effacing do-gooders.
Yes, it was a tad self-promotional patting themselves on the back for doing it; but I give major props to Nordstrom for not giving in to what other retailers are doing and starting to cram down the throats of shoppers earlier and earlier the whole Christmas retail mantra. I wish I lived near a Nordstrom store so I could patronize them as a reward.
It seems one major retailer (coughWal-Martcough) was starting to show out the Christmas stuff as soon as their back-to-school season was over and went into “high gear” as they were taking down their Halloween seasonal displays.
I’m sick and tired of this “holiday creep” getting earlier and earlier every single year. I fully expect the marketing and media blitz to make it to Labor Day in the not too distant future…
Awesome. I wish they’d all do this. Our malls are all decked out and playing Christmas music. Santa is already here. Give it a freaking rest! Let me have my turkey people!
good for nordstrom……..there are no nordstroms in our area, but it would be refreshing to go into a store w/o all that christmas stuff in september…..b y the time christmas is actually here, i’m sick to death of it…
Excellent. Good for them! I’m now really happy that I bought some of my Christmas gifts from them.
@yahonza: Here’s hoping that you receive a new keyboard, with a unstuck allcaps key, and renewed powers of observation for Christmas this year.
@MotherFury: So, how would Nordstrom get out the message that they think it’s wrong to start the Christmas Creep so early if they did not announce their opposition and their intent to act differently? Surely you don’t think that all the geniuses roaming the malls would observe this behavior by Nordstrom and make the connection? Yeah, me neither.
It does exist or we wouldn’t talk about it or have a name for it. Anyone that starts decorating/ advertising for Christmas before the day after Thanksgiving is guilty of C.C. It doesn’t have to get earlier every year, getting the season started before it is supposed to is C.C.
We could debate about the actuality of Christmas Creep until next Christmas, but the point is the Christmas stuff shouldn’t go up until the day after Thanksgiving. The proof is in the complaints, if consumers are upset enough that Nordstrom has to post a sign and we are having this discussion, it means something is wrong. What I want to see the the bottom line number for sales for stores that start Christmas in October and stores that wait until the day after Thanksgiving. I would venture to say the Nordstrom makes their sales goal regardless of their lack of participation in Christmas Creep.
King Penny via ShhPeKo/Racked Flickr Pool Local · On Sherry-Lehmann’s new location [NY Times] National · Nordstrom refuses to give into Christmas creep [Consumerist] · High-end websites exploring PayPal as payment option [NY Times] · Fashion editor wants to reinvent Members…
a href=”#c3017565″>zarathustra333: This poster has two posts, both touting Circuit City sales. Shillbot. Kill it please!
I will cue up Joy to World (X-mas version, not Three Dog Night) on my ipod right now, to celebrate this.
Good job, Nordstroms.
This is awesome, and is yet another reason to wish I could afford to shop at Nordstrom’s.
Someday, Nordstrom. Someday.
Even though I do not shop at Nordstrom that often I am glad to hear that! I am so sick of Christmas stuff coming up right after Halloween!
@sixninezero: 1) If people only talked about things that exist, you’d never have heard about unicorns, dragons, or Bigfoot. 2) The proof is in the business sales, not the complaints. If there was really something “wrong” business wouldn’t do it. You’d like to see the bottom line sales figures? Trust me, Wal-mart, Sears, and every retailer (including Nordstrom) already has, and they’re making decisions based on what’s best for business.
I’m irritated by C.C. as much as everyone else, but it seems like people have been complaining about it as long as I can remember. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, and I’m not about to argue with a flood of highly unscientific anecdotal evidence provided by commentors. Overall I like Nordstrom’s ad, although obviously it’s a conscious marketing decision on their part.
I still don’t see myself doing any shopping there, but yay Nordstrom.
Now if Starbucks hadn’t bragged about doing the same one year and broken the promise the next …
Dear Nordstroms,
I enjoy your policy. Beginning Nov 23 and not a single day before, I will purchase all of my holiday needs from you. You are my hero.
Hugs & kisses,
JBH
They’re not patting themselves on the back. I guarantee they’ve had complaints saying, “Where are the Christmas decorations? Why do you hate Jesus?”
A small, tasteful sign on the door is hardly self-promotion.
There aren’t many good guys left among large retailers. Nordstrom is one of them.
@The Comedian: No, the employees don’t work on Thansgiving. They work late the night before, and early on Black Friday.
(FYI: I don’t work there, but know people who do.)
I love that the store is closed on Thanksgiving…I mean, it used to be that everything was closed or closed very early. I know stores at my mall still do, but i know several others who don’t.
* Don’t close I mean. Most malls will close early but not all malls or department stores will just close altogether for the holiday.
The reason for ‘christmas creep’, from what I’ve heard, is that it increases that store’s portion of Christmas-related items. The actual sales don’t increase (i.e., there are still $50 million or whatever Christmas-related items bought), but that store’s fraction goes up. Of course, if they push it back too far, they start to lose money because they have to remove other potential moneymakers to make room for wreaths, trees, etc.
Nordstrom kicks ass. That’s cool to see a major retailer doing one holiday at a time.
@rjhiggins: Excellent, and thanks for the reply.
I’m happy to see that there isn’t a cloud around this silver lining.