ATLANTA—There is still a week to go before Halloween, and already metro Atlanta stores are glowing with Christmas.
Believe it or not, it actually started in August.
“Guess what I see already? Santa!” says Sophia Johnson.
Johnson sent 11Alive’s Why Guy video of Christmas trees and a Santa Claus inside a metro Home Depot.
“What about Thanksgiving?” asks Johnson. “Did we miss Thanksgiving?”
It’s called the Christmas Creep, and it has a lot of shoppers asking why stores start decorating for the holidays so early?
How early? The National Retail Federation says some stores put Christmas on display as early as August because 10% of all shoppers begin looking for holiday deals during the summer.
The Georgia Retail Association says by October, 44% of all shoppers are looking for Christmas gifts.
“The stores want to give them that holiday feeling even though it’s two months early,” says James Miller, Senior Director of External Affairs of the Georgia and Florida Retail Federation. “They’ll be in the spirit and willing to spend more money.”
Not all shoppers are crazy about Santa creeping into the picture before Halloween. Last year, Target announce it would hold off on the holiday displays at the entrance to their stores until after Thanksgiving.
“Right next to Halloween is Christmas,” says Sophia Johnson. “Crazy.”
It’s inspired Sophia a new holiday greeting.
“Happy Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmasish.”
