Boo! Happy Holidays

It's not even Halloween, but the holidays are coming early this year to Wal-Mart, Macy's and other big-box retailers. In a "Thanks, Captain Obvious" assessment, economists are predicting a "lousy" holiday shopping season this year, forcing retailers to bring out the singing santas, Christmas tree sweaters, and sale-priced electronics a bit early. Wal-Mart said their shoppers are increasingly living paycheck to paycheck, so they need to spread out their holiday shopping over a longer time frame. Let's just hope we don't sink into the next Great Depression...I can't handle seeing those giant, lawn snow-globes being sold next to the sunscreen.

We noticed this trend in some recent pitching for a client. While trying to secure radio giveaways for an October promotion (non-holiday related), we were told that all giveaway spots are taken by advertisers promoting their holiday products early, and that these spots (typically easy to get with just a week or two notice), were taken 3 months ago.

Something to keep in mind...