After relishing pumpkin spiced lattes in August and adorning her Wilmington, Delaware home with Halloween decorations in late September, Samantha Kowalczyk eagerly anticipates savoring eggnog-flavored coffee and enveloping her space with cinnamon and sugar cookie scented candles. The 30-year-old believes seasonal flavors and scents should be available all year long, and she’s not alone.
In response to rising customer demand, stores ranging from Bath and Body Works and online holiday decor retailer Balsam Hill to Whole Foods Market and Krispy Kreme are unveiling their festive collections weeks before the traditional Nov. 1 start to the holiday shopping season.
Though inflation-weary consumers may hold off on buying winter apparel until the first chill in the air, many are jumping at deals linked to events like the new school year and limited-time seasonal promotions. “I want the season earlier and the things that go with it,” Kowalczyk said. “If I enjoy it, why should I have to wait?”
Retailers, keen to extend the shopping period, are shaking up the traditional retail calendar. This year’s late Thanksgiving on Nov. 28 leaves five fewer days before Christmas, increasing the urgency to inspire earlier purchases, analysts say.
Members of Bath and Body Works’ loyalty program could shop a holiday preview collection of candles in scents like winter candy apple and Bright Christmas Morning starting Sept. 24. The general public gained access on Sept. 30. Last year, these customers didn’t get access to festive products until Oct. 3, and the holiday-themed merchandise didn’t launch in stores until Oct. 9.
Whole Foods rolled out autumnal items such as pumpkin spice pancake mix, apple pear ginger Italian soda, and pumpkin spice ground coffee in early September, earlier than last year’s late September debut. Starbucks launched its fall menu on Aug. 22, two days sooner than the year before, featuring offerings like iced apple crisp nondairy cream chai.
Krispy Kreme has expanded the availability of its Halloween-themed donuts to the entire month instead of just the days leading up to the event. Similar changes apply to holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, with themed sweets available a week before the holiday. According to Dave Skena, Krispy Kreme’s global chief brand officer, these shifts cater to shopper enthusiasm.
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, plans to roll out savings on Thanksgiving meal products starting Oct. 14, nearly two weeks earlier than last year. Stew Leonard’s, a grocery chain operating in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, intends to stock chocolate turkeys throughout November and to begin promoting eggnog in early November instead of December.
“I think people get the itch when they see the next thing,” said Jake Tavello, vice president of Stew Leonard’s. “They get excited even before the weather changes.”
Retailers are extending seasonal flavors and scents across more products, especially pumpkin spice. Hefty, owned by Reynolds Consumer Products, introduced cinnamon pumpkin spice trash bags online in late September 2022 as a marketing gimmick, selling out within seconds. Each year, these scented bags are released earlier to keep up with demand, said Brian Lutz, marketing director of Hefty Waste. This year, they were promoted in mid-August.
Balsam Hill, for the first time, turned its fall catalog into a holiday book sent out in September. Holiday decor sales surged in mid-September, a month earlier than last year, according to CEO Mac Harman. Halloween decor also saw early sales spikes.
Holiday items historically emerged in stores by mid-October, ramping up through mid-November. But this year, the big push is expected to start in early November, said Stephen Yalof, president and CEO of Tanger, which manages upscale outdoor shopping centers.
Retailers noticed the trend of early seasonal shopping before the coronavirus pandemic, but supply chain disruptions during the health crisis accelerated it. Now, the shift appears driven by shoppers seeking joy in uncertain times. “Decorating brings joy and reduces stress. They’re just decorating earlier because it’s freaking stressful right now,” Harman said, citing global crises and political division among other stresses.
For retailers, extending the holiday season is a chance to boost sales, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor of market research firm Circana. However, some shoppers like Jamie Bercaw, 33, from Owega, New York, prefer to stick to traditional seasonal timelines. “If we purchase these things too early, they’re not as special,” she said.