Every year in June or July, my daughter starts singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer randomly. I tease her that holiday songs are only for November & December. We go on and on with me saying “noooooo,” in a silly way and her singing the song sporadically. But maybe she is on to something. Should we all start planning for Christmas in July? Here are 5 reasons maybe we should.
1. Avoid Filtering by Shipping Time
Have you ever found the perfect gift – I mean it practically screamed your recipient’s name? You’re ready to check out and realize – insert ominous music here – it will not arrive in time, or the shipping cost to get it in time is so astronomical, the gift is no longer in your budget. So, you get a lesser gift that will arrive in time for the occasion. Shopping early means you won’t have to filter down your gift options based on shipping times.
2. Supporting Small Businesses
Shopping small is a growing movement, which can make the holiday sales surge bigger than years past. Many small businesses do not have the internal infrastructure to support a crazy surge in sales. So, they often cut off holiday orders 3-4 weeks prior to the holidays.
By buying in advance (especially 2-3 months in advance), you are supporting small businesses and allowing them to reorder popular items prior to the holiday rush.
A special note for social enterprises, like the ones we work with. It’s much easier for businesses to plan their number of employees when there is a steadier stream of orders rather than one heavy season of orders. For employers who provide employment to vulnerable groups, such as the differently abled, transitioning homeless, or sex trafficking survivors, the training season can be longer than traditional employers. Helping these businesses spread holiday sales throughout the year can make a major impact on how many employees they can support.
3. Customized Gifts
At beCAUSE minded, a big percentage of our shoppers are purchasing corporate gift boxes. And now that we offer branding (adding a corporate logo to the wooden box), we are understanding how this can add to the production time. It takes us 2-3 weeks to get the custom branding iron, and then we hand-stamp each box. So, this requires more lead time than our normal 24-48 hours.
Buying in advance allows you to have more choices for customized gifts – for personal or client gifts!
4. More Selection
You will also avoid the holiday out-of-stock issues that are bound to come up on popular items. It can be difficult for stores to maintain every color and size of every product. By shopping early, you are getting the first pick!
5. More Time for Wrapping
If you’ve read any of our other blogs, you know we love a beautiful gift presentation. But, when you order your gifts last minute, let’s be honest, you usually don’t have time. When you order in advance, you can take your time on gift wrapping and the outside of the gift can look as beautiful as the thought you put in.
If you need ideas for gift wrapping, check out our blog “7 Ways to Level-up Your Gift Presentation.”
I don’t know if I’m going to come around on singing “Jingle Bells” in the 100-degree Texas summer, but I am down with shopping early.
How about you? Are you normally an early or last-minute shopper?
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