December 1, 2006
Extreme Home Makeover: The Christmas Edition
You already see them popping up – those inflatable Santas and Snowmen. Today, we live in a nation that’s out of control when it comes to decorating for the holidays and that’s wonderful news for retailers.
According to a survey conducted by America’s Research Group, consumers who plan to spend between $101 and $250 to decorate their homes for Christmas jumped from 6.5 percent in 2005 to 18.3 percent this year. Those who intend to spend $251 to $350 increased from 1.7 percent in 2005 to 4.9 percent this year.
Britt Beemer, chairman of the research firm, explained the increase to The Associated Press. “This year, you’re seeing a lot more people entertaining in their homes, which is pushing up the number of people buying more expensive decorations,” he said.
Many retailers have jumped on the opportunity to sell more Christmas decorations.
Home Depot has doubled the floor space for holiday decorations and increased its stock of product more than four times over what it carried last year.
Among the most popular items this year is inflatable décor. Home Depot is selling a 60-inch inflatable Santa on a motorcycle for $80. It is also moving a lot of 96-inch inflatable carousels at $170.
Novelty trees, such as an upside-down artificial tree sold at Home Depot, Target and elsewhere are popular, as well.
Discussion Quest ions: What do you make of the increased spending on holiday decorations? How are (should) retailers with limited space, such as supermarkets
and drugstores, approaching in-store display and merchandising of holiday decorations this year versus those in the past?
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Discussion Questions
Poll
Seasonal/holiday merchandise always sells — it always has and it always will. What changes is the mix of hot merchandise and hot holidays and seasons. Unfortunately, many smaller retailers and some big ones just tend to buy an assortment of junk for the season, throw it in the seasonal aisle, and hope it sells.
The good retailers take the time and effort to plan, create, and execute. If you want to see examples of great seasonal merchandising and advertising done by smaller retailers, oftentimes on a shoestring budget, look no further than the Creative Choice awards which are presented each year at the National Grocers Convention in February, based on thousands of entries. Great ideas with more sweat invested than money.
An awful lot of Christmas decorations are very similar, low-end items sold by a broad range of stores (hardware stores, home improvement stores, drug stores, supermarkets, mass merchants, etc.) Smarter retailers look for assortments that reinforce a special positioning unique to their identity. Presenting another me-too mediocrity helps no one.
Retailers like grocery and drug stores need to insure that whatever is offered in their stores is consistent with the store’s positioning. This is not to suggest that they avoid investing in “hot” areas. Rather, they need to think of these trends in terms of their ability to merchandise consistent with their positioning.
If consumers are going to be spending more time entertaining at home this holiday season, food retailers have a terrific opportunity to merchandise what they do best, for example, party platters and floral displays.
Having recently retuned from a run to a local supermarket, I was surprised to find about 25 percent of the shelves in the seasonal aisle were filled with items having nothing to do with Christmas or any of the other holidays celebrated this time of year.
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Seasonal/holiday merchandise always sells — it always has and it always will. What changes is the mix of hot merchandise and hot holidays and seasons. Unfortunately, many smaller retailers and some big ones just tend to buy an assortment of junk for the season, throw it in the seasonal aisle, and hope it sells.
The good retailers take the time and effort to plan, create, and execute. If you want to see examples of great seasonal merchandising and advertising done by smaller retailers, oftentimes on a shoestring budget, look no further than the Creative Choice awards which are presented each year at the National Grocers Convention in February, based on thousands of entries. Great ideas with more sweat invested than money.
An awful lot of Christmas decorations are very similar, low-end items sold by a broad range of stores (hardware stores, home improvement stores, drug stores, supermarkets, mass merchants, etc.) Smarter retailers look for assortments that reinforce a special positioning unique to their identity. Presenting another me-too mediocrity helps no one.
Retailers like grocery and drug stores need to insure that whatever is offered in their stores is consistent with the store’s positioning. This is not to suggest that they avoid investing in “hot” areas. Rather, they need to think of these trends in terms of their ability to merchandise consistent with their positioning.
If consumers are going to be spending more time entertaining at home this holiday season, food retailers have a terrific opportunity to merchandise what they do best, for example, party platters and floral displays.
Having recently retuned from a run to a local supermarket, I was surprised to find about 25 percent of the shelves in the seasonal aisle were filled with items having nothing to do with Christmas or any of the other holidays celebrated this time of year.