Nov 2, 2010

Holiday shopping season kicks off more graduallyBy Ray CortopassiFox59.com

Indianapolis, IN – Call it a more gradual transition. One holiday is over and it’s on to the next. Christmas merchandise is replacing the Halloween stuff but at a slower pace than years past. It’s the culture shock many of us feel switching gears, from one holiday season to the next.

This year, the Grinch had to wait to steal Christmas. At the Meijer on Indianapolis’ west side, employees are clearing out the drastically reduced Halloween merchandise and replacing it with the yuletide fare, but not quite as early as they used to.

“Just because I think Christmas doesn’t sell in September,” an employee stocking the shelves said. “They’re wanting Halloween and Thanksgiving.”

“Companies are getting more and more efficient with their inventories,” said Matt Will, an economics professor at the University of Indianapolis.

Will thinks that’s a sign of a lesson slowly getting learned by the retail industry.

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