TakeAway: Now that Halloween is over, retailers are embarking on the mad dash to December 25.
The sluggish economy is raising the stakes for the Christmas shopping season. Some retailers and marketers, worried that uncertainty among shoppers might increase as the weeks go by, hope to pull demand forward by moving up the start of their pitches.
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Excerpted from NYTimes, “For Marketers, Christmas Started Last Month” By Stuart Elliott, October 31, 2010
In consumer electronics, “people are getting out there earlier,” said Best Buy’s SVP for U.S. marketing. One reason is increased comparison shopping and another is new products, such as e-readers, tablets and 3-D TV sets. To “emotionally engage consumers” who will be more deliberate about where they shop, Best Buy will run two holiday campaigns at once.
“The consumer at large is still very cautious about spending and very purposeful about how to plan gift-giving.
The holiday is about celebration and family and giving, but saving is just as much a hallmark.”
Some retailers are playing up the traditional rather than the promotional aspects of Christmas shopping.
For instance, Barneys New York plans to bring to life its theme for 2010, “Have a foodie holiday,” with windows at its flagship store on Madison Avenue that pay tribute to chefs, such as Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray.
However, the profusion of Christmas campaigns runs the risk of wearing out shoppers who may at some point tire of all the Santas and candy canes.
Of course, when it comes to Christmas, one beverage truly stands out: Coca-Cola, which has been running campaigns with holiday themes since the 1930s. The Coca-Cola Company will begin its 2010 campaign this month, varying the introductory date by market. Never mind those concerned about ads that make it seem that the holiday arrives too soon. Coca-Cola worries about it ending too early – it wants to keep Christmas going through the first week of January.
Edit by AMW
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Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/business/media/01adco.html?src=busln
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The Homa Files 