When Do Your Customers Start Christmas Shopping?

You might not be in the Christmas spirit just yet and we certainly wouldn’t blame you. Although, if you’ve wandered the high-streets, you may have already spotted a few businesses selling Christmas themed items. While popular stores like The Range have only just launched their Halloween themed choices, they are already teasing their Christmas line-up. Why is this? Well, it’s all about when customers start their Christmas shopping.

You might assume that customers will begin shopping for Christmas around October or early November, perhaps once the pumpkins on doorsteps start to rot and plastic cobwebs begin to fall from windows. However, statistics suggest that customers begin thinking about Christmas a lot earlier than this.

The graph below shows the interest in the keyword “Christmas gifts” on Google. 

Of note is that over the past five years the interest in this particular term starts to climb at the beginning of August. It’s consistent each year. In fact, in 2022, people were searching for this term by July! 

Why Are People Searching This Early? 

There are a few reasons why Christmas planning for shoppers is earlier than it used to be. First, businesses, including supermarkets, are constantly pushing Christmas shopping as early as possible. They are keen to bridge the gap between the end of summer and the beginning of the Christmas season. While Halloween is fun for consumers, it just doesn’t bring in the same level of excitement and - more importantly - demand - as the Christmas season. 

Another point to consider is the cost of living crisis. With soaring inflation, stagnant wages and staggering energy costs, Christmas looks a little less affordable every year. Consumers have two options, buy on credit or buy early. 

Finally, while they may not be purchasing products in July or August, they could still be researching, planning and preparing. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

One report suggests that between the start of September and the beginning of November 70% of shoppers have already started shopping for Christmas. If you’re running a business the message is clear: you need to be ready. 

That means that you should have your packaging strategy planned. You might even want to think about planning photography for your products in August. This guarantees you can load up your website with all your Christmas treats at the end of September. 

• That’s when bigger stores like Disney launch their festive line-up, ready for eager buyers, before they’ve even purchased the sweets for trick or treaters. 

And if people aren’t Christmas shopping, then they could still have started to research what they want to buy. So, start thinking about putting those blogs together and spicing up your social media with early choices for Christmas shoppers. 

Here’s a quick guide of dates to think about so you can get ready for those festive sales:

• 1st week of August - Order your packaging 

• 1st week of September - Photograph your festive products complete with Christmas packaging 

• 2nd - 3rd week September - Tease your product launches or new designs on social media 

• Last week of September - Launch your full festive line-up online or in stores. 

As you can see then, the time to start Christmas planning is upon us. Your customers are almost ready, are you?