Greg's Corner

Target to put the brakes on Christmas

It happens every year around this time. It’s not even Halloween yet and Christmas commercials are already starting to invade the airwaves. A number of retailers tend to bypass Thanksgiving altogether and go straight for Christmas as soon as the leaves change color. Then we hear consumers say en masse that it’s too soon for Christmas marketing. Well, one retailer has said it’s listening to its customers and is cutting back on Christmas.

Target has announced that they are actually going to focus on Thanksgiving in their stores and delay the Christmas rush. The retail chain says they’ll be focusing on Thanksgiving meal preparation and entertaining during the Thanksgiving season. That’s not to say that Target is throwing in the towel when it comes to Christmas as they plan on increasing their marketing budget as Christmas approaches.

It’s refreshing to see a retail chain listening to its customers. This has the potential to sway some customers away from Walmart. While it probably won’t make that much of a dent in Walmart’s customer base it’s nice to have the option to shop in a store in October and November and not be assaulted prematurely by the juggernaut of Christmas marketing.