A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
It's not even September, but at a lot of stores, costumes, candy, orange everywhere and that scent of pumpkin spice. NPR's Juliana Kim explains why fall vibes crept in so early.
JULIANA KIM, BYLINE: Summerween is that time of the year when major retailers start to promote all things sweater weather, even though shorts and flip-flops are still in season. George John is a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He says it's been a trend for a while now.
GEORGE JOHN: This is the trend of moving up Christmas and Thanksgiving and Halloween, the three big sort of seasons that run into each other, earlier and earlier and earlier.
KIM: But this year, fall- and Halloween-related goods seem to be popping up sooner than ever. Take Home Depot, for instance. The retailer launched an online Halloween campaign in April. In June, Lowe's, Party City and Michaels all released spooky seasonal items online, earlier than in previous years. Most recently, on Thursday, Starbucks began serving its iconic pumpkin spice latte on August 22, the coffee chain's earliest rollout yet. Most of the big businesses say that these early rollouts are in response to excitement from consumers.
JOHN: Halloween has changed from being a kid-oriented, go-get-candy holiday to being very much more for an adult. People have these elaborate Halloween parties.
KIM: Before the pandemic, Halloween spending was declining in the U.S. Fast-forward to 2023, the National Retail Federation estimates that American shoppers spent a record $12 billion on Halloween goods. Despite the enthusiasm, John warns retailers that there is a risk of being too early when it comes to these promotions.
JOHN: if they just stretch every darn holiday out to being a season, it just loses its meaning, and it loses its intensity.
KIM: And that might be a reason for retailers to be spooked.
Juliana Kim, NPR News.
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