Valley retailers getting head start on Christmas season

Shortbread cookies shrouded in red-plaid wrappers, square-shaped boxes of Panettone and German gingersnaps beckon to passers-by. Holiday-themed treats, stocked alongside red-and-white gift boxes and Christmas tree ornaments, pull shoppers into a different season, if only for a minute.

Cost Plus World Market's winter wonderland is only slightly hidden behind its harvest section. It comprises a large portion of the store's inventory, about 30 percent, and it's just Halloween. This year, the store received its Christmas items the first week of October.

And they're hardly alone.

"It seems like that trend comes earlier and earlier every year," said Bryan Wachter, director of government affairs for the Retail Association of Nevada.

Wachter said retailers stock the items with a long lead time ahead of the holidays to capitalize on the number of pay periods until Christmas, a sign of hard economic times.

"If you can spread Christmas out over a couple pay periods, you make it easier for people to buy," Wachter said.

Vanessa Velez, Cost Plus' general manager, said more than 20 customers each day purchase holiday-related items at her store. "I think people like to get a jump-start on the holidays," she said.

Primarily, shoppers have been buying decor, but Velez said they have bought gifts and food too.

Next door to Cost Plus, Barnes & Noble Booksellers is a bit more tame, but still has hints of the holidays. A large table is covered with stacks of Christmas cards, which are marked 30 percent off. To the left, the 2012 calendars are displayed, presumably for gift giving. Finally, cranberry-red lined totes adorned with the word "Peace" hang near the checkout line.

At Kmart, the holidays already are in full swing. Walk to the back of the store and an array of lit Christmas trees, popcorn tins and holly await you. Pre-packaged gift baskets with lotions, body scrubs and bath gel fill the center aisle displays.

Even though the trend of putting out items early may benefit retailers, not all shoppers think it's a good idea.

"I get why they do it, but I don't like it," shopper Lindsey Martinez said. "At least let us get through Halloween first."

Martinez said she doesn't plan to begin her Christmas shopping until December.

A recent Gallup poll found that Americans plan to spend $712 on Christmas gifts this year, only $3 less than the $715 they estimated in 2010. Roughly twice as many Americans, 29 percent compared with 15 percent in 2010, say they will spend less on gifts this year. About 54 percent say they will spend about the same.

If consumers' 2011 Christmas spending intentions remain at 2010 levels, 2011 holiday retail spending could be flat, although at a modestly improved level over 2008 to 2009, according to the poll.

Likewise, the National Retail Federation found that holiday retail sales for 2011 are expected to increase 2.8 percent to $465.6 billion. In 2010, there was an increase of 5.2 percent.

"Persistently high unemployment, an erratic stock market, modest income growth and rising consumer prices are all combining to impact spending this holiday season. How Americans will react to shaky economic data is the question, but the good news for retailers is that shoppers have not yet thrown in the towel," National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said.

Contact reporter Laura Emerson at
lemerson@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.