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Is it too early for holiday ads?
I went to Duane Reade during my lunch break Wednesday and was a bit startled to see a spinning rack of Halloween cards near the front of the store. It’s only the beginning of September, I thought. We just said goodbye to summer. Halloween is more than a month off, and I am just not ready for this.
Layaway is something consumers generally start a couple of months out, and, as a Kmart spokeswoman explained to National Jeweler, the store began offering no service fees for new layaway purchases made online or in store on Sept. 8. “The advertising schedule is a reflection of this longer lead time,” she said.
Still, as of Thursday there are 103 more days until everyone gathers under the Christmas tree to rip into their gifts. In my mind, I am still trying to digest the fact that summer has ended. And it seems there are a lot of people who agree with me.
The Today show anchors discussed Kmart’s September Christmas ad Thursday morning and posted a poll online asking if stores are marketing the holidays too early these days. A whopping 90 percent of poll-takers said yes.
What do you think? Is holiday advertising by the second week in September a smart way to get a jump on the competition, or a turnoff for consumers who aren’t ready to think about the crowded malls and low account balances the holidays can bring?
When do you start your marketing?
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