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

[barkley]

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.

i totaly get it for college and some high school classes but the ads i got were VERY geared to younger kids-crayons, little paint sets, glue sticks...all the stuff that at the end of the school year when my kids were attending i would find barely or entirely unused and returned in their backpacks. my youngest graduated high school in '15 and i still have boxes of partial spiral notebooks, unused pencils and pens, crayons and still usable glue sticks from his elementary days. my oldest got a laugh the other day when i was asked for a pencil and produced an unused cartoon themed one dating back to the '90's when they were into nick jr. shows

 

[sam_gordon]

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

First, again, anytime you want to know why a business does something, the answer is simple... money.
Second, as others have asked, when should they put Valentines stuff unless right after NY? Most stores are going to have "seasonal" areas. Should they put generic stuff out in those areas for two weeks, then change it all out again to put Valentines stuff? That seems like a lot of extra work.

And I had to laugh at

Valentine's Day is the second biggest holiday for stores to sell merchandise next to Christmas and Easter.

Wouldn't that make it the THIRD biggest?

This article is from 2017, but has this time period as the fifth... https://www.pennlive.com/life/2017/11/calendar_according_to_retail.html

 

[tony67]

Don't Ask Questions, Just Consume Product and Then Get Excited for Next Products

 

[RedAngie]

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

Well, CVS is pretty ridiculous to start with. In order to make room for that Easter candy before New Year’s, one CVS in New York City threw out perfectly good unsold Christmas merchandise, supposedly on December 26.

Lots of it. According to reports based on someone’s tiktok video, there were a dozen or more trash bags out by the curb for pickup. Some products were intentionally damaged (dolls with heads ripped off) but most was salable at reduced prices.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/cvs-christmas-items-garbage-tiktok-b2472261.html

I love the BS statements by a CVS bigwig. “Cannot verify the accuracy of the video.” Sure, with some CVS price signs blatantly obvious inside the bags.

“ Everybody else is doing it. Why can’t we?”

Yeah, it’s the property of CVS and they can do what they want with it. But no wonder CVS’s prices are so high when they throw out so much.

 

[barkley]

so i just got a bj's ad in my inbox with a big banner saying 'seasonal clearance'. found stuff from both christmas AND halloween but either their regular prices are through the roof or something is wonky w/the ad because when i went to their site all the items still seemed to be priced at what was full priced pre holiday everywhere else

 

[QueenIsabella]

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.

This is all part of their nefarious plot. Because you know darn well, if I'm proactive and get the Halloween Snickers early, that I'll break into them and have to buy more!

 

[Christine]

I went out clothes shopping on the 26th/27th of December. All the stuff that had been out was pushed back to clearance in most stores and lots of pink/red sweaters with hearts on them were prominently displayed.

 

[RedAngie]

I remember a scene from Boscov’s department store a few days before Christmas about 10 years ago. In their linens department, all of the Christmas tablecloths, placemats, napkins, etc. were dumped on a clearance table in the back.

Up front were Valentine’s, St.Patrick’s, and maybe Easter linens.

 

[Babs Johnson]

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

At my local Safeway, as Christmas stuff dwindles close to the holiday, they fill the space with “Club Size” packages of standard food items, like a 3 pack of Hamburger Helper or a very large box of Nutrigrain bars.

I think Target did the same with cleaning supplies and other merchandise, since their Valentines section is much smaller than Christmas and it’s too early to put out patio furniture and summer items.

But yes, for most stores Valentine’s is the natural replacement in the seasonal section.

 

[Babs Johnson]

Well, CVS is pretty ridiculous to start with. In order to make room for that Easter candy before New Year’s, one CVS in New York City threw out perfectly good unsold Christmas merchandise, supposedly on December 26.

Lots of it. According to reports based on someone’s tiktok video, there were a dozen or more trash bags out by the curb for pickup. Some products were intentionally damaged (dolls with heads ripped off) but most was salable at reduced prices.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/cvs-christmas-items-garbage-tiktok-b2472261.html

I love the BS statements by a CVS bigwig. “Cannot verify the accuracy of the video.” Sure, with some CVS price signs blatantly obvious inside the bags.

“ Everybody else is doing it. Why can’t we?”

Yeah, it’s the property of CVS and they can do what they want with it. But no wonder CVS’s prices are so high when they throw out so much.

Sadly, it’s probably cheaper to just heave leftover merchandise rather than to “do the right thing.”

I don’t know how large that particular store in NYC is; perhaps they DID retain some Christmas items that were already on the shelves for clearance and the trash bags were excess from the back room. Store managers often have no say how much seasonal merchandise they receive. Corporate determines how much they’re “supposed” to sell.

Some of those blankets and the pet beds weren’t even holiday themed.

 

[slo]

I contribute this to why we all feel time moves so fast. It’s January and we’re seeing February items. In February we’ll start seeing March items (Easter this year), In April we’ll start seeing May items (Mother’s Day) and so on and so on. The only time seasonal stuff that’s out to early annoys me is with Christmas items. The Hobby Lobby by me had Christmas stuff out before Labor Day - I couldn’t believe it. But people were buying stuff so who can blame them - they’re out to make money, and if Christmas merch at the end of August is making money, then they’ll put it out.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

The only thing that bugged me about Valentine's Day stuff being out was that there was no aisle of 50-75% off Christmas candy at Walmart. Poof, it was gone, to be replaced by hearts and flowers. I didn't see any Easter Stuff in the candy aisle yet, but they did have the St. Patrick's Day t-shirts out.

 

[mom2rtk]

The only thing that bugged me about Valentine's Day stuff being out was that there was no aisle of 50-75% off Christmas candy at Walmart. Poof, it was gone, to be replaced by hearts and flowers. I didn't see any Easter Stuff in the candy aisle yet, but they did have the St. Patrick's Day t-shirts out.

There doesn't seem to be nearly as much Christmas merchandise left after the holiday these days. Not sure if it's a remnant of the pandemic, supply chain issues, or just more careful ordering.

 

[SteveH]

We were in Maui and went to Safeway Christmas Day, they were already putting out all the Valentines Day stuff that morning.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I saw Valentine's Day stuff up before Christmas. Was at Hobby Lobby a week ago, Valentine's Day, Easter and St. Patrick's Day stuff is all out.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

At this rate I'm getting the feeling the OP may not be a troll but also does like to post things on repeat

They said almost identical things last January
https://www.disboards.com/threads/when-did-valentines-day-start-becoming-big-again.3907357/

Furthermore it's like they repeated quite similarly their comment a year ago
From 2023


From 2024 (this thread):


Maybe the OP's mother struggles with memory but she seems to be surprised every year in January to see Valentine's Day stuff all over CVS

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

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.

You must remove the perilous temptation from your house immediately and send the rest to me. I will face the peril and rescue you. .

 

[Mle8308]

At this rate I'm getting the feeling the OP may not be a troll but also does like to post things on repeat

They said almost identical things last January
https://www.disboards.com/threads/when-did-valentines-day-start-becoming-big-again.3907357/

Furthermore it's like they repeated quite similarly their comment a year ago
From 2023
View attachment 824762

From 2024 (this thread):
View attachment 824763

Maybe the OP's mother struggles with memory but she seems to be surprised every year in January to see Valentine's Day stuff all over CVS

Dodger is not a troll. That's all I'll say.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Dodger is not a troll. That's all I'll say.

I specifically said " I'm getting the feeling the OP may not be a troll" so no I wasn't calling the OP a troll, I said the very opposite. I guess you might have gleaned over the wording and zeroed in on troll and assumed that's what I was saying.

 

[Mle8308]

I specifically said " I'm getting the feeling the OP may not be a troll" so no I wasn't calling the OP a troll, I said the very opposite. I guess you might have gleaned over the wording and zeroed in on troll and assumed that's what I was saying.

You said "may not", quite different from "not" - nor is it the opposite. You didn't have to post that at all. I didn't glean over anything.