With the effects of Covid-19 already affecting traditional retail by driving a surge in online shopping, and with footfall remaining low due to social distancing measures – and with regional lockdowns in place or threatened on top of this – the message to consumers has been to “shop early” for Christmas. What does this mean for retail jewellers? Christmas is coming early for you too – are you promoting Christmas yet? If not you could be missing out to other retailers. October may seem too early for some, but shoppers have been encouraged in the press to start thinking about festive buying.

Last month Andy Mulchay, strategy director the industry body for online retailers IMRG, warned consumers that companies may struggle to cope if Christmas shopping is left to the last minute, instead urging shoppers to start early. He told BBC Online: “We think the volumes are going to be really very excessive this year. Whilst that in itself is not a problem, getting too much of it too close to Christmas is going to be a bit of a problem. If you can spread out your shopping and do quite a lot of it in November, maybe even a bit of it now, then that would really help.”

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has also launched a national advertising campaign called “Shop Early, Start Wrapping, Enjoy Christmas” designed to encourage the public to shop earlier in the year for Christmas 2020.

High street retailer Boots has already ramped up its online capacity and is planning to offer bookable slots for shoppers over 60. It also started to introduce Christmas lines in store some weeks ago.

Meanwhile, John Lewis’s online Christmas shop opened in August after a spike in searches by customers. As mentioned in this week’s Multiples Insight report, which we create exclusively for CMJ members, retailers such as Beaverbrooks already have a dedicated Christmas gift section on their website and are promoting it on their social media.

The CMJ has already sent out its complimentary Christmas point-of-sale material – for use both in store and online. It would be great to see how you are using it – so do share on social media and tag us in the post. Please also leave your comments below if you have any thoughts on an early Christmas, or if you have already installed your festive window displays.

CMJ members receive weekly reports on competitor activity to keep them, as well as free seasonal point of sale material. If you are interested in becoming a member and receiving these – and many other – benefits for your business, please check out our Join the CMJ page.