It’s easy to shake our heads and blame it on retailers wanting to wring every last buck out of shoppers opening up their wallets for the holiday season – but there are several organizations that have been welcoming Christmas in June for decades. And, it’s because of customer demand.

The National Retail Federation has survey data showing that about 40% of consumers surveyed say they begin their holiday shopping well before Halloween – and they’ve been saying this for more than a decade now. Think about it: Why wait until the weather outside is frightful? Here’s a look at some of the major organizations that start their Christmas season well before what’s been considered “traditional.”

Early June

With more than 600 stores nationwide and annual revenue well in excess of $4 billion, Hobby Lobby has kicked off the Christmas selling season at the start of June for more than 20 years now. That gives customers more than 200 shopping days before Christmas.

The merchandise mix of more than 8,000 items is planned a year in advance. Mere logistics comes into play. There’s simply no way that amount of merchandise could even be processed by the stores in a time window that ran from Thanksgiving to December 24th.

Mid-July

More than 1,650 of the 2,000 Hallmark Gold Crown stores in the United States are privately owned. Business decisions are made based on location and circumstances. However, they unite on one thing.

Christmas ornaments are sold in all stores starting in mid-July. What would you expect from a company whose business is the holidays? This tradition has been around long enough that customers know to head out while the pavement’s still hot to find limited edition ornaments that won’t be around if they wait until later in the year.

Late July

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas even at the end of July when you visit the U.S. Postal Service. This year’s holiday stamps won’t officially go on sale until early October, but the designs are displayed in the lobby starting at this time.

Fewer Christmas cards are sent through the mail each year, but the U.S. Postal Service says it still take s about 90 days to produce, distribute, and release the special stamps. Often the design decisions are made several years in advance.

More retailers are joining this summertime Christmas movement, but some – like Home Depot – start off digitally. You can go online and order your outdoor Christmas decorations starting in late July – just in case you want to make sure there are no shipping issues.

June is when we here at Vinyl Art find ourselves getting into the holiday spirit. Our customers are turning their attention to the holiday shopping season, and they’re looking for unique ways to merchandise. Many already consider June to be pushing the boundary. It’s why they turn to us. Over 5,000 in-house dies and on-site manufacturing with state of the art machinery means orders never run the risk of being stuck in a foreign port.

It’s never too early to be thinking about creative solutions for the holiday season. We’re ready to help.


Want to Learn More?

Contact the Vinyl Art Team at 800-569-1304
Rob Slattery | Executive Sales Director | robs@vinylart.wpengine.com
Tim Hitchings | Vice President | timhitchings@vinylart.wpengine.com