Is it Christmas Already?

November 16, 2008 · 6 comments

Is it me, or does it seem like it’s Christmas already?

Although the weather still feels like it’s closer to summer than to winter, some of the consumer signs indicate Christmas is upon us:

  • Ward Centers, a General Growth Properties mall, (including Ward Centre, Ward Entertainment Center & Ward Village, Ward Gateway & Farmers Market, and Ward Warehouse) already has their Christmas decorations up – and they’ve had them up since before Halloween!
  • Pearlridge also has their Christmas decorations up – before Thanksgiving has even come!
  • Ala Moana Center, another GGP mall, takes it one step further as they now have Santa available for photos – again before Thanksgiving!
  • And KSSK started playing Christmas music this week – again before Thanksgiving!

Usually, Costco is the only company that routinely brings out Christmas merchandise weeks and months ahead of the season.

It’s not that I’m trying to be a Grinch here, but I wonder why they are all doing this.  I know GGP is in dire financial straits, so maybe they are doing it to drum up business.  But Pearlridge and KSSK aren’t affiliated with them.  So is it safe to assume that things are so bad that everyone is colluding to subliminally suggest to consumers that we should go out, spend money, and help support our economy and their bottom lines?

I actually think it’s a pretty genius marketing ploy, but I’m just trying to put things into perspective here.  And, if you aren’t convinced by these efforts, but still want to help the economy, read about an easy way to help out.

Mahalo!

Tagged as: ala moana, christmas, general growth properties, ggp, kssk, pearlridge, ward

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exbor

You know, increasing the visits only *encourages* me. Thanks again for stopping by and commenting.

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laurelle

Yup, you are both *old,* but *too young to remember some of the retailing history.*

I admire yours (and anyone else's) ability to blog, consistently, over time and with some standard of quality. Otherwise, I'm just here to up your page view count ;)

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exbor

Wow, you're calling me too old and too young in the same post! Thanks for all that background information. You know, maybe you should start your own blog...

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laurelle

Wow, you know you are getting old when you gripe about the earliness of the Christmas displays :)

You obviously lack a black belt in shopping--and are way too young to remember :) that retailers have always decked out for Christmas as soon as they could, I've seen it as early as August!

It's actually gotten LESS bad recently:
--The rise of online shopping correlates to loss of profitability in brick-and-mortar retailing, since consumers can shop online 24/7 to make sure they got the best deals (Christmas in the middle of the week means that USPS can deliver right up to Christmas Eve).

--Probably for a decade now, Black Friday is followed by Cyber Monday.

--The shake down/shake out continues as retailers try to balance the cost of bringing in all that holiday merchandise with any probabilty of making a profit.

--Last year was probably the biggest gift card year, but this year, consumers have to be wary because the shops may not be around.

--GGP gift cards were big last year, but what happens this year if they are in bankruptcy? Back to cash in a red BankoH envelope? That's not a bad option.

KSSK-- don't even get me started on them. The kindest thing I can say is the Christmas music puts people in the holiday spirit so maybe they'll spend money. Sensibly, on things they need.

And okay, I'm going with your other advice on spending, Dean's Drive-in for lunch. I'll let you know how fabulous the food is :)

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