In Response to Meghan H's question

Do you think holiday sales are becoming too much?

I know a lot of people get upset when they see christmas items out in september or october but for the most part this doesn't really happen in most companies. I have never walked into a store in september and have seen christmas decorations being set. I work at Target currently so I have seen when each season or holiday has been set for the store. We typically try to get the holiday items out a little more then a month before the actual holiday. This gives people the time to poke around and find things to decorate their homes instead of rushing a few weeks before the holiday. Now if some companies are setting up for christmas early in the fall then that is just ridiculous and unnecessary.
When we set for halloween we usually start in mid september and the say after halloween is when the thanksgiving decorations and items come out. Then the day after thanksgiving (so end of November) is when all the christmas items and decorations come out. We just finished setting our outdoor furniture about a month ago when it was still cold but people like to look through it anyways. It makes people happy to walk by it and think "yes! the outdoor furniture is out which means summer is even closer." Thats what I think whenever I walk by it and with the weather lately, we are selling a ton of it. I love when the halloween section is set in mid-september. It makes people excited for the season even though it is a month away, it is something to look forward to.
Even some of our summer clothing and bathing suits come out in January where as our winter coats come out in October and are gone by beginning of February. Retail works in an odd way but for the most part it makes sense, at least to me. Everyone asks why the bathing suits are out during that time and dont realize people are going on vacation to warm places at these times, especially in March. There is an explanation for everything and even if it doesn't seem to make sense, there is a reason why companies set it up the way they do.

Do you find stores such as Wal-Mart and Target to be very seasonal? If you go into either of these places to shop, do you enjoy the fact that they bring out the specific holiday items a little early helpful or more annoying?