Season Creep

The back-to-school marketing season starts right after July 4th and Halloween marketing gears up immediately after Labor day. Christmas marketing pops up in mid-summer but really gets going during October, more than a month earlier than even a decade ago.

Do consumers buy more if the selling season is longer? I suspect we string out our purchases but spend about the same as we would if retailers didn't display merchandise earlier and earlier.

More about the season: The National Retail Federation estimates that Halloween is a $5 billion business. Those temporary Halloween stores (like Spirit Halloween) are just the thing for serious costume/decoration shopping, because they have such deep assortments.

My sister bought her grandson a skeleton costume in a Halloween specialty store, just days before the big event. Why a skeleton, rather than Spiderman or Superman? "It was the scariest costume in the store," Michael told me. Happy Halloween.