Post by pchallinor on Sept 25, 2011 16:36:39 GMT
As Britain's high streets struggle to cope with a flatlining economy and collapsing demand from shoppers, major retailers have decided that Christmas needs to come earlier than ever.
A decade ago, retailers would not start their festive promotions until late October, but this year – with dozens of retail chains on the brink of bankruptcy – selection boxes, mince pies and even advent calendars and Christmas puddings are already on the shelves of supermarkets across the country.
Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street has a dedicated aisle for Christmas products. Brian Payne, a 70-year-old retiree from Tottenham, north London, was stocking up on mince pies on Friday lunchtime. "It's amazing, isn't it, that you can get all this Christmas stuff already," said Mr Payne, who had two boxes of lattice mince pies in his basket. "I want it to be Christmas every day, so I really don't mind that it's come around this early.
"They say 'for Christmas' on them, but if you look at the best-before date they only last till 2 October. I bought two boxes last week as well. I'll probably go through 30 boxes before I have one on Christmas day."
Richard Hyman of Deloitte says retailers have been forced to move their festive ranges and promotions forward because, for many shops, Christmas is the "only time they make any serious money".
"There is a very finite level of demand out there, so if the guy next door goes on promotion, retailers will feel obliged to follow suit," he said.
Retailers want the Christmas season to start earlier in order to help fill their near-empty tills, Hyman said, while hard-pressed consumers want it to start later because they don't have the cash to spend. "This Christmas is going to be a massive challenge. Retailers are having a very tough time and the consumer economy is slowing down. It's tough out there and it's going to get tougher."
He expects there to be extra sales and promotions in the run-up to the big day this year. "Consumers are on a diet of constant promotions and price cuts, and it is going to be quite hard to wean them off that diet."
Hyman also warned that the trend to hold Boxing Day-type sales before Christmas has made a rod for retailers' backs, as many consumers now hold back on seasonal purchases in anticipation of last-minute deals.
"Consumers know that if you leave it for longer you'll probably get a better price. It encourages customers to leave shopping until as late as possible, as they know that retailers tend to start getting desperate as they've bought lots of stock for Christmas and they need to turn that stock into cash."
David McCorquodale, retail partner at KPMG, also expects shops to launch "surprise sales" to tempt consumers away from rivals.
"Retailers are always trying something different. Last year House of Fraser picked random days in the run-up to Christmas to offer 50% off," he said. "Because of the snow last year, retailers lost a lot of sales and they will be trying even harder this year." Last year's inclement weather has left retailers with warehouses full of unsold products they are desperate to offload, he warned.
And he added: "An awful lot of retailers don't make a lot of profit most of the year. Many make up to 75% of their profits in the last three months of the year."
Guardian