Last week, we mentioned that even though some schools have just recently finished for the school year, retailers are already beginning their back-to-school promotions. We wondered (and hoped) that this was just an anomaly and that we weren’t seeing evidence of Back-To-School Creep, but people who know a thing or two about the retail business say it’s a growing trend. [More]
christmas creep
Now At Walgreens: Stocking Stuffers For Your Easter Stocking
By 3.18.13
If a sign advertising “stocking stuffers” is up in March, does that make it incredibly late or incredibly early for Christmas? Is it Christmas Creep or plain old laziness? Maybe it’s something else altogether: it could be that Walgreens is trying to synthesize an all-new holiday tradition. [More]
Target Also Hauls Out Valentine’s Day Stuff In Mid-December
By 12.19.12
In the poll on our post from Monday about a Kmart that has already hauled out the stuffed animals and cards for Valentine’s Day, the wishes of our readership are clear: you don’t want to see Valentine’s Day stuff out until January at the earliest. Unfortunately, our readers don’t run the world, and certainly don’t run big-box discount stores. Reader L. sent along this photo from a Target store in Florida. [More]
Forget Christmas. This Kmart Has Already Moved On To Valentine’s Day
By 12.17.12
By now, you’re all familiar with Christmas Creep, the insidious inching of the holiday shopping season earlier and earlier into the year. But there’s a lesser-known holiday creep that is already showing up on the shelves of at least one retailer. [More]
Moving Black Friday Up A Week Could Save Thanksgiving
By 11.13.12 — Updated: 11.13.15
We don’t know when the warm water finally started to boil, but it’s safe to say that Black Friday now begins shortly after dinner is served on Thanksgiving. But rather than continue to fight this trend, we think that the only way to restore Thanksgiving is to have Black Friday sales begin a weekend earlier. [More]
The Most Delicious Christmas Creep Backlash You’ll Ever See
By 11.5.12 — Updated: 11.7.12
From the enchanted holiday village that is Reddit, here’s a delicious bit of Christmas Creep backlash. No, not delicious in the sense that justice can be delicious, but delicious in the sense that this humble plea to celebrate one holiday at a time is rendered in frosting and chocolate chip cookie bars. [More]
In Case You Were Wondering, Holiday Shopping Starts On October 28
By 11.5.12
We’ve always wondered precisely when the “holiday shopping season” starts. For us at Consumerist, it’s when we receive the first press release that contains the phrase “stocking stuffer,” beginning the cold clench of dread in the pits of our stomachs. But that’s us. For the rest of the world, it begins before Halloween. So says Kohl’s, in this festive door sign. [More]
CVS Skips Half-Price Halloween Candy, Goes Right To Full-On Christmas
By 11.2.12
Children trick-or-treat to get their Halloween sugar fix, but grown-ups know that November 1st is the day when we clean up, hitting half-price holiday-branded candy sales. That’s what Justin tried to do, and he was horrified when he stopped by CVS to hit the half-price sale and found only Santas and reindeer, as far as the eye could see. Or at least in the seasonal aisle. [More]
Target Decides Mid-October Is The Perfect Time To Start Airing Holiday Ads
By 10.15.12
While most major retailers usually wait until Nov. 1 to start clogging the airwaves with a blitz of red and green commercials — and this year, many are waiting until after the election — the folks at Target have apparently just decided to embrace Christmas Creep to its fullest, launching its first holiday-themed ad over the weekend. [More]
Holiday Creep Is Inclusive: Bed, Bath, And Beyond’s Nightmare Before Hanukkah
By 10.11.12
Holiday Creep may be a retail scourge, but at least it’s an inclusive one. Reader Meredith spotted this seasonal display at Bed, Bath and Beyond, demonstrating that in the end, we’re all really supposed to follow one national religion: retail. [More]
Target’s Accidental Nightmare Before Christmas Looks Kind Of Cool
By 10.3.12
We would like to take a moment to salute whoever put together this display at an unknown, unnamed Target store. Even if it’s just the angle from which our tipster Ken took the photo, this display takes the “Nightmare Before Christmas” absurdity of hauling Christmas merchandise out in late summer and makes it kind of beautiful and almost make sense. [More]
Campaign Ads Are Keeping The Christmas Creep Off TV
By 10.2.12
Whatever your political persuasion, you’ve probably already had it up to here (imagine me holding my hand slightly above my head) with the campaign ads flooding the airwaves. But in the grand Consumerist tradition of looking for a silver lining around every storm cloud, there’s good news for people who hate seeing holiday-themed ads in October. [More]
American Retail, Where Christmas Comes Six Weeks Before Halloween
By 9.27.12
The kids are barely back in school, but in American retail, it’s Christmas. Here are two new entries in the annals of Christmas creepiness: department store Kohl’s and closeout chain Ollie’s. [More]
Yep, The Easter Candy Is Out Already At Safeway And Kroger
By 12.7.11 — Updated: 12.26.12
In 2008, we published the first reports of Easter candy in stores on December 31. In 2009, they were spotted on shelves on December 23. Last year, the first appearance crept back to December 16. This year, our first reports came from Safeway and Kroger stores as early as December 2. [More]
Christmas Creeps In Slowly At Macy’s
By 7.14.10 — Updated: 10.17.13
Now that we’re past the halfway point in the year, it’s time to begin thinking about Christmas… well, at least at the Macy’s flagship store in New York, where Consumerist reader David snapped this photo last night. [More]
New York Times, 1908: 100 Years Of Christmas Creep!
By 11.12.08 — Updated: 10.17.13
Reader Annie spotted this early Christmas ad while browsing through the New York Times Machine. It’s from November 11, 1908.
Dear Radio City Music Hall, Christmas Is Not "Right Around The Corner" In August
By 8.14.08 — Updated: 10.17.13
Reader Scott says he spotted some nasty summertime Christmas Creep in the free NYC area paper “Metro”. Apparently the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular is under the impression that “Christmas is right around the corner.” In August.
