Why is Valentine's Day merchandise popping up in stores so soon?

[DodgerGirl]

Recently my mom was in CVS and when she was there she was surprised to see Valentine's Day merchandise already and I seem to think that once stores finished Christmas merchandise the Valentine's Day merchandise is the next thing that sells. Because I have been noticing every year that the stores have two full aisles full of Valentine's candy and a aisle full of valentines and Valentine's Day plushies and it tells me that Valentine's Day is the second biggest holiday for stores to sell merchandise next to Christmas and Easter. It used to be that as soon as January would end stores would begin promoting Valentine's Day by having merchandise and you would see Valentine's Day commercials advertising jewelry and flowers as well as candy but now it seems that as soon as one holiday ends another starts being focused on a lot in stores for merchandise sales and it tells me this is how Valentine's Day will be promoted this year

 

[MamaMermaid]

It's a month away... I don't think it's too early, especially if you have little ones to buy cards for for a class exchange, etc. Of course, it's just consumerism.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Because Christmas is over, and it's not yet Easter. On February 15th, they'll start putting out the Easter stuff. After that, Memorial Day. It's just how stores make money--getting you ready to spend for the next holiday. It's nothing new--they put out Halloween stuff as soon as the Back to School stuff clears, then a quick swipe at Thanksgiving before the Christmas crush.

 

[rangerxenos]

I saw EASTER candy in my local CVS before New Year's. It ridiculous.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I was at Dollar General about 10 days before Christmas. Most of the Christmas stuff was gone, and they were getting ready to put up Valentine's Day.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

I'm just happy to constantly have access to those marshmallow chocolate whatever's they have out at each holiday. I usually grab a couple whenever in a CVS. As long as they have those, they can put out Valentines Day stuff in June for all I care.

 

[barkley]

i was at the store on december 27th and they had the christmas clearance on the shelves next to the valentines items. crazy thing is they had two big bins of stuffed animals (the huge oversized ones)-neither had any that were decorated with any specific holiday affiliation yet the ones in the christmas decorated display bin were marked down by 80% as compared to the ones in the valentine's decorated bin. saw a woman with several in her cart and commented to her on the price difference. she smiled and said she was taking advantage to snag items and squirrel them away for easter

 

[focusondisney]

Sounds like your store is pretty conservative in their time frames. The grocery I go to puts out Valentines stuff before Christmas. Lowes & other stores start putting out Halloween stuff before or right around Labor Day. Christmas stuff is out in October. It’s how retail operates for years now.

 

[_19disnA]

Most grocery stores seem to have one aisle dedicated to whatever 'seasonal' holiday is up next. Rather than have those shelves empty, makes sense once they remove the Christmas candy, they stock them for the next holiday. Does make me wonder how fresh that candy is since it was obviously produced a few months ago to ship to stores and will sit on the shelves until February.

 

[RangerPooh]

Our Target had a slim selection of Christmas by 12/23, so Valentine's Day and storage bins were moving into isles that it had previously populated. Same at Kroger. By 12/26 Christmas was moved to the clearance isle. I don't think that it was too early. Same thing happens with other holidays. Once Labor Day hits back to school is long gone and Halloween is moved in, and Christmas is in place by 10/30 as Halloween shelves are empty.

 

[mamamary]

St Patrick’s Day stuff is already out too.

 

[barkley]

Once Labor Day hits back to school is long gone

i don't know what the deal is but i've gotten at least 2 or 3 ads in my in-box within the last week announcing to not forget that it's 'school supply re-stock time'. target and a couple of other big retailers showing the same kind of ads they usualy have during the summer leading up to school starting. has something changed w/ k-12 schooling where teachers send re-stock lists mid school year?

St Patrick’s Day stuff is already out too.

thanks for reminding me-i'll have to check costco for corned beef next time i go. they have the best quality at the best prices local to us so i buy several and use them throughout the year.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I saw V-Day things at Marshall's before Christmas! HOLIDAY merchandise sells!! As soon as one holiday is over, it's time to roll everything out for the upcoming , sometimes sooner.

 

[mom2rtk]

What do you want them to put on the seasonal aisle as the Christmas merchandise sells out?

 

[TiggerTrigger]

My supermarket shifted their holiday section from Christmas to Valentine's Day on December 26th. There's also a decent smattering of Mardi Gras stuff in the mix since Fat Tuesday is February 13th.

 

[QueenIsabella]

i don't know what the deal is but i've gotten at least 2 or 3 ads in my in-box within the last week announcing to not forget that it's 'school supply re-stock time'. target and a couple of other big retailers showing the same kind of ads they usualy have during the summer leading up to school starting. has something changed w/ k-12 schooling where teachers send re-stock lists mid school year?

This is no joke! My DD20 goes to the local branch of State U--she lives on campus, ~3 miles from home. She called last night because the "north" Walmart (near the college), the Target, and the Staples ALL were out of the notebook she needed--a 1-subject, plastic cover, college-ruled notebook. Her dad went out at 10pm last night--he needed an ingredient for salsa, anyway--and grabbed a notebook from the "south" Walmart for her. College classes start today.

Also, the new HS semester will soon be upon us. With block scheduling, you would need all new notebooks for the second half. Not to mention the odd graphing calculator, writing implements, etc. I think the semester starts at the end of the month. I dunno--DS17 only has English and Ceramics for HS classes this coming semester.

 

[disneychrista]

@DodgerGirl when is the appropriate time to put out the Valentines decorations, cards and candy?

 

[focusondisney]

Our Target had a slim selection of Christmas by 12/23, so Valentine's Day and storage bins were moving into isles that it had previously populated. Same at Kroger. By 12/26 Christmas was moved to the clearance isle.

We had some trouble with the lights on our prelit tree this year. My husband added a separate string when that happened. On December 22nd, he decided to run out & get a few extra light strings, just in case. He went to the local Christmas shop. They had no lights left & had Valentines stuff out. Then he went to Lowe’s & said there was absolute nothing Christmas related out. Nothing at all, no clear, no mark downs, “no evidence of Christmas at all.” On December 22nd.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Now isn't too early!

When I saw the Valentine's display in World Market on December 18, THAT was too early.

 

[RedAngie]

Big Lots had Valentine and St.Patrick’s Day merchandise a few days before Christmas.

I already bought Valentines paper plates and napkins earlier this week. Plus a tub of cherry jelly hearts candy, which is already half gone.