Christmas in July, Cliché?

We’ve all heard it. We’ve all rolled our eyes at it. In fact, we’ve probably all wondered why retailers haven’t moved “Christmas in July” sales to “Christmas in May”, given their propensity to do their best to extend the holiday shopping season for a long as possible! It only makes sense, doesn’t it? With Christmas decorations hitting the stores in mid October, why not move Christmas in July sales to May?

OK, all kidding aside, Christmas in July is cliché, right? I know that’s what I thought, so I decided to do a little investigating and here’s what I’ve discovered. Most retailers are offered advantageous terms on Christmas related merchandise if they are willing to make a few concessions. Typically, to take advantage of these terms retailers have to start receiving Christmas goods in late May and early June. The good news for retailers is that by doing this they typically don’t have to pay for goods until December, however, the bad news is, the early receipt of this Christmas merchandise takes up a lot of valuable warehouse space. Therefore, by blowing out some of the Christmas merchandise in July, the retailer creates a little breathing room back in the warehouse.

So, the next time you see a Christmas in July sale, remember, in addition to generating some cash flow in the typically slow month of July, the retail merchant may also be attempting to free up some much needed space in the warehouse. Therefore, when they offer us great deals on getting some of our Christmas shopping done early instead of being completely skeptical we should appreciate the discount and maybe, just maybe (if the deal is good enough), save a little cash by doing some early Christmas shopping! However, assuming we do, then our issue, similar to the retailers receiving Christmas merchandise early is, where am I going to put the stuff until Christmas?!?!

I’ve discovered a great website for all your “Holiday Dinnerware needs” is HolidayDinnerwareDepot.com. They always have stuff on sale, and they carry a huge selection of dinnerware and related items.

Have a joyous 4th of July!