The holiday shopping countdown
FAMILY FEATURES

Every Christmas wish list seems to have tech gadgets on it, and even the card aisles are reflecting the trend. American Greetings will debut tech-inspired cards this holiday season as the perfect pairing for all of the hottest gizmos. The cards will feature special extras like blinking lights, sounds of the season and popular holiday songs.

"BLACK FRIDAY" has long been regarded as the kick off of the holiday shopping season. However, now that retailers are unveiling their Christmas products earlier every year, and catering to the needs of late shoppers, the stores are filled with people in pursuit of the perfect gift anywhere between Labor Day and December 25.

In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, the number of "extreme" early birds and procrastinators has been on the rise in recent years. Last year, 40 per cent of all consumers began their holiday shopping before Halloween, and 15 percent of consumers reported that they had not begun any of their shopping by December 5. As a result, retailers are updating their products, mer chandising and marketing plans to meet the needs of these two very different sets of shoppers.

One clear example of how this has affected the retail world can be seen in the greeting card industry. Christmas remains the top card-sending occasion, with nearly two billion cards sent annually, and greeting card manu fac turers have taken note of this evolving consumer demand.

"We have definitely noticed the trend of con - sumers pushing up the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season," said Heather Bentley, Christmas Program Mana ger at American Greetings. "In response to this, shoppers will start to see the cards in stores by November 1, and the complete holiday card line will be available before Thanksgiving."

"We have also enhanced our offering of con - venience items like gift card holders for the late season shopper. And overall our holi day cards reflect a more conversa tional tone and generally sendable quality to help shop pers with multiple tasks to get in and out of the card aisle more quickly," Bentley said.