It’s not your imagination, Christmas really does appear earlier every year. In 2024 you could have sent your child off to their first day of school with a mince pie in their lunchbox.
And this year Christmas treats elbowed their way onto shelves in August in some retailers.
So, grab your Santa hat, pour out a cup of eggnog, and let’s dig into why Christmas begins now.
Spreading Christmas cheer cost
There’s no way to sugar-coat it, everything is getting more expensive. Despite being a nation of prolific gift-givers, a lot of us are planning to cut back on our holiday spending.
The alternative to a lower-spend Christmas is to spread spending wider and wider; PWC found that 28% of people used Black Friday sales to stock up on stocking-fillers and Christmas treats in 2024, and we expect that trend to continue this year.
Only Santa gets everything delivered in one night
Remember when COVID-19 was about to deal the “bricks-and-mortar” retail model a final killing blow?
That didn’t quite happen, but the growth of eCommerce is impossible to ignore:
This puts more and more pressure on delivery networks; the day before writing this piece I heard “order now in time for Christmas” in a radio advert for the first time this year.
The snowball effect
You might think it’s still too early to be all Christmassy, but if your CEO saw a sparkly reindeer in a shop window on her drive into work, then jingle all the way! If competitors and other industries are bringing Christmas marketing earlier and earlier, it’s hard to resist the peer pressure.
Just like on Black Friday, you’ll find Loyalists, Bargain Hunters and more among your audience. Some will love the opportunity to get ahead of the game; some will roll their eyes and refuse to engage before December 1st. If you do nothing else right now, make sure your data is in order and understand the opinions and motivations of your specific customers.
You have more to do than ever before
We’ll never stop singing the praises of a connected multichannel marketing strategy. But we’ll be the first to admit that a good campaign has more moving parts than that robot puppy your little nephew simply has to have this year. A smart landing page, social posts that are both Christmassy AND on-brand, email workflows that match your customer segments. So get cracking!
Feeling overwhelmed? Spotler offers a range of supporting services that help you deliver campaigns you can really be proud of.
BONUS REASON: Christmas is great
Cards on the table, your humble author would happily scoff mince pies year round if they were available.
As the days shorten and the weather becomes less pleasant, looking forward to the warm glow of Christmas can be a wonderful mood booster.
