WINNIPEG – Christmas carols and holiday jingles are already making their annual appearance at shopping malls and on the radio. But for some people – it’s still too early for the choruses of Christmas. So how early is too early?
For about 52 per cent of Canadians, any jolly carols playing before Dec. 1 is too early, according to a recent Entandem Holiday Music Study. The study uses data collected by the Leger Intelligence Group from over 1,500 Canadians during November.
This study suggests these holiday tunes play a bigger role than just drumming up Christmas spirit; they encourage holiday shopping. According to the study, about a third of the participants said they stay in stores longer depending on the music being played, and about 80 per cent said the holiday music improves their Christmas shopping.
For others – the festive music is a reminder that it’s time to start their holiday shopping. Nearly 42 per cent of the people in the study said the music is the biggest reminder to start checking off the Christmas list, followed by a change in weather and holiday decorations.
“People have an emotional connection to holiday music, and businesses can leverage this to create positive experiences for their customers during this festive season,” Amadou Tall, director at Entandem, said in a news release. “The results from the Entandem Holiday Music Study show that Canadians enjoy holiday music, it motivates customers to stay longer in stores and encourages them to start their holiday shopping when they hear it.”
For the most part – Canadians like their holiday music. Only 13 per cent of the respondents said they disliked hearing any carols.
This data has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent.
