BRC launches campaign urging consumers to “Shop Early” this Christmas

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is today launching a new nationwide advertising campaign calling for consumers to start doing their Christmas shopping earlier this year, to help spread demand during the coronavirus pandemic in what is usually the busiest shopping time of the year.

The “Shop early, start wrapping, enjoy Christmas” campaign mirrors the government’s three-point coronavirus messages, which have been adapted at different points of the pandemic as punchy guidelines.

The main idea behind the BRC’s campaign is to encourage the public to “embrace the true Christmas spirit” by thinking of others and preventing the usual retail rush seen through late November and December – both in stores and online, as social distancing measures and other restrictions remain firmly in place.

BRC CEO Helen Dickinson, said: “While celebrations will no doubt be a little different this year, we know customers want to keep Christmas special. That’s why we’re encouraging people to shop early and prevent the last-minute rush, so their fellow customers and all the store colleagues, warehouse workers and delivery drivers working behind the scenes, have the space they need to stay safe and well.

“BRC’s September sales figures show signs some customers have already started a little earlier than usual, as spreading your Christmas shopping has many benefits in today’s climate - from safety to managing finances.”

Since March, retailers have strengthened their supply chains and invested hundreds of millions to put in place safety and hygiene measures across their stores and online operations, to help keep everyone well and enable customers to shop with greater confidence.

The BRC "Shop Early" campaign will start on national and local radio stations from today and will run across national print and social channels through until early November.

The usual scenes of bustling high streets are unlikely to be repeated this year, according to research by Klarna and Retailer Economics, revealed at the start of October. The study showed that almost three-quarters of Brits (71%) will be put off doing their shopping in-store this Christmas due to COVID-19 restrictions, and more than a third (37%) say they will avoid physical shopping locations “as much as possible” over the festive period.