Does Christmas appear to come earlier every year? As you look around the stores, the summer bikinis are already on the sales rail and the endless amount of Christmas confectionery and decorations are already being put out on the shelves and its only September!

For retailers it’s the most profitable season, boosting their end of year profits. Retailers spend millions on digital advertising before and during the festive period, not forgetting the John Lewis TV campaign which has become an iconic part of Christmas. Using extensive market research, retailers have the ability to understand their consumer habits and have tapped into their wants and needs far more than they were able to in the past.

In 2016 Next saw their end of year profits fall, whereas supermarkets such as Lidl saw an increase of 15% in sales during December 2016, along with other food chains also doing well. This could be down to the wide range of non-food products, such as toys, clothing and homeware on offer at extremely competitive prices, under one roof. Along with increased spend on sites such as Amazon, Etsy, Ebay and Very, the high street retailer is having to work harder to lure buyers off their sofas and onto the high street and are having to adapt to changing consumer shopping habits by offering an entire Christmas shopping experience.

05/10/2017 – Heidi Bryant