Why does Christmas season start the day after Halloween now?

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Christmas time is here - or at least that’s what you’d think walking into any store right now.

Stores are decking the halls with their holiday inventory earlier this year hoping shoppers, worried about inflation, will start buying sooner.

Have you noticed Christmas decor is up the moment the Halloween décor is down? You’re not alone. Economic experts said the season starts sooner now. The sales are starting sooner too.

Dr. Ayalla Ruvio, professor for the Michigan State University marketing department, said retailers have been sneaking Christmas into our lives earlier each year. One reason is that more people are getting holiday shopping done sooner as inflation climbs.

“Planning ahead is always good for the consumer right? Because you can control your expenses better,” Ruvio said.

Companies are reacting to shopping behavior. Plus, putting Christmas products on the shelves earlier helps retailers avoid the supply chain issues.

Dr. Steven Melnyk, professor of supply chain management at MSU, said the longer holiday retail season is also solving another issue.

“If I can spread my demand out over a time period what I do is I don’t have as many concerns about staffing,” Melnyk said.

Also, when the pandemic started, companies ordered more products than they needed. Now they’re scrambling to sell it. So, experts said consumers should keep an eye out for deals on things that were trendy during the pandemic. Like exercise equipment.

However, even with inflation, the National Retail Federation said holiday spending is expected to go up this year. Shoppers are expected to spend up to $960 billion according to projections released today.

Online shopping is expected to jump ten percent compared to last year’s spending.

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