When is the Right Time for Retail Stores to Get in the Christmas Spirit?

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Stores Decorated for ChristmasSOASTA, Inc., the leader in cloud and mobile testing today announced the findings of its 2012 Holiday Readiness survey that discovered that 78% of American adults think stores should not play Christmas music and 75% think stores shouldn't put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving.

However, nearly the same percentage of adults (75%) felt stores should have a specific “Cyber Monday” website that can handle millions of people shopping for the holidays at once while 73% of Americans felt that stores should have a dependable app for smartphones or tablets that can easily handle mobile sales for the holidays.

In fact, a majority of Americans (55%) now report owning a smartphone (48%) and/or a tablet (23%) and 16% saying they own a more basic e-reader like an Amazon Kindle or Nook.  This information comes from SOASTA’s survey of 2,346 American adults aged 18 and older conducted online on its behalf by Harris Interactive.

“The results of our Holiday Readiness Survey show that Americans think stores shouldn’t ‘Deck the Halls’ until after Thanksgiving,” said Tom Lounibos, SOASTA CEO.  “An overwhelming majority of Americans want stores to focus on making sure their websites are ready for Cyber Monday and that their mobile apps are capable of handling the shopping demand.  So instead of decorating for the holidays, stores should test their online presence instead, making sure their websites and their mobile apps can handle millions of people from all over the world at the same time.”

SOASTA’s 2012 Holiday Readiness Survey shows that 92% of Americans plan to shop for the holiday season – and that more holiday shoppers plan to shop online than at physical brick and mortar stores (75% and 69%, respectively).  Here’s how it breaks down:

  • 75% will shop online
    • accessed through their home computer (69%)
    • accessed through their work computer (17%)
    • 44% through an app or website through their tablet
    • 34% through their smartphone
  • 19% through mail order catalogue (by calling/placing order via phone or physically mailing an order form)
  • 10% through a phone order
When should stores begin decorating for Christmas and playing holiday music?  When do you start decking the halls at your house?
I'm a former 7th grade Science teacher turned stay-at-home mom that lives in Houston, Texas. I am married to my college sweetheart and have a beautiful daughter named Riley, who definitely keeps me on my toes! I am also involved in starting a small business which would both manufacture and sell an invention that I've patented, called Toothpaste 2 Go. I love interacting with my readers and hope to learn as much about you as you learn about me!

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