n.
The gradual trend to begin displaying Christmas-related merchandise and advertising earlier each year.
Example Citations:Labor Day, Columbus Day and Halloween, much less Thanksgiving, are now mere speed bumps on the highway to Christmas, folded into the 115-day month of Septoctnocember.
Researchers call it "Christmas creep." That's shorthand for the ever-backward march of the holiday retail season.
—Jeff Gammage, "Already, visions of sugarplums.: Christmas elbows its way into summer," The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 13, 2007
Retailers deploy seasonal displays early to get shoppers in the mood for holiday spending as they build inventory.It's a tactic retail marketers call "Christmas creep."
—Mark Albright, "Halloween creeps up," St. Petersburg Times, Sepember 1, 2006
Earliest Citation:Way back around Labor Day, grocery stores across the country started displaying 4 million Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal boxes picturing a cuddly character named Santabear. Thus did the bear's promoters herald the 1986 Christmas season and get a jump on Jingle Bear, Bloomie's Bear and Kris Krinkles. ...
Despite Santabear's lovable nature, its September entrance is a symptom of what many view as an unfortunate trend: Christmas creep.
—Martha Groves, "Christmas 'Creep' Foes Can't Buy Its Ever Earlier Start," Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1986
Related Words:ad creep
Black Friday
Chrismukkah
Christmas tree allergy
commercial creep
Falloween
jargon creep
season creep
SPF creep
techno-creep
workweek creep
Categories:Marketing
Retail