“Turducken,” “Festivus,” and now, “OctoNovemCember”.
Let the holiday cra-zy begin.
Oh, wait, it already has.
In fact, seeing Target’s new Christmas commercial last night is nothing compared to seeing Santa stockings hanging next to Halloween candy in Wal-Mart on the day after the 4th of July.
Okay, maybe it was July 9th.
Regardless, mega-popular couponing website, RetailMeNot.com has come up with a new term for the holiday-inspired retail frenzy which seems to start earlier and earlier each year.
The new trademarked catchphrase: “OctoNovemCember.”
Get it?
To help those who aren’t quite there yet, the company has created a matching mascot for the term (a.k.a. new marketing campaign), the Pumpkin-Headed Turkey Claus.
Ho, ho, gobble!
According to RetailMeNot, holiday shopping is officially in full swing.
And leading the charge–parents.
Of course.
The site conducted research and found that nearly four in 10 parents with children under the age of 18 have already started their holiday shopping. Most moms and dads tell RetailMeNot that new layaway programs and early discounts act as incentives, especially in these tough economic times.
Given that response, it’s no wonder Toys R Us is making out like a bandit with its new layaway program which waives fees if customers shop before Halloween. The popular retail giant is also doing well with its “Hot Toy Reservation” program, which allows shoppers to reserve any of the 50 toys on its hot toy list by coughing up a 20 percent down payment by October 31st.
Bottom line: If your kid has the hots for a specific toy, it may not be wise to wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to snag it. According to RetailMeNot’s research, only 15 percent of consumers wait until after Thanksgiving to begin their shopping. In fact, the site found that more than 30% of the people they polled said they would be done with their holiday shopping before December 1st.
Are you part of that group or are you immune to the holiday hysteria?
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