Whether we like it not, we are approaching the end of summer – and some of us are in denial about it. But another coping mechanism for the looming season of autumn (and winter after it) is to prepare for the festive period. And it seems like a large proportion of the population are doing just that. According to research by John Lewis, searches for ‘Christmas gifts’ on the brand’s website have doubled in comparison to this time last year, August 2022. So that means potentially twice as many of us are getting our Christmas shopping in relatively early, before we’ve officially packed away our summer wardrobes.
The survey also revealed that 28% of customers are both searching for and buying Christmas gifts in August – with the most popular products to browse for being festive wrapping paper (up by 466%), stockings (up by 250%), crackers (up by 400%) and artificial Christmas trees.
After the initial ‘I can’t believe it’s Christmas already’ inner flinch, we couldn’t help but wonder: why are we starting preparation for the festive madness even earlier than usual this year?
While preparation has been key for a long time – Google report insights found that as many as 30% of John Lewis customers had completed their Christmas shopping by the end of October – it feels like this year is different.
We can’t deny that part of this impulse to begin preparations will have something to do with the cost of living crisis. It’s hit so many of us, and it’s had a knock-on effect on the festive season – if we want to afford it, we’re feeling that we need to start spending on it earlier, spreading our pay checks out as far as they can. The amount of shoppers searching for ‘Christmas offers’, in fact, has increased 25 fold.
Festive food is also on the brain, too – with searches for ‘Christmas’ on Waitrose’s website reaching a record 193% higher than this time in 2022.
On top of (completely necessary) preparations for financial reasons, maybe the nation’s mood is just ready for a Christmas-induced lift? After all, we haven’t had an extended period of proper sunshine since June, so maybe the temptation to give up on summer and put all our love and celebratory energy into the imminent winter feels like a sound plan?
The seasons are changing, after all, Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte is available from tomorrow. Maybe it’s time to ditch the summer vibes altogether and commit to our snuggly era.