Christmas 2024: when is it socially acceptable to start playing Christmas songs and why do shops start early?

• With November now underway, the crawl to Christmas 2024 is officially underway.
• But for those who have been out in shops since late October, you may have already started to hear those Christmas favourites.
• So why do shops pump Christmas music in their stores early each year, and when is it acceptable to play Christmas songs?

We are just shy of two months from Christmas 2024, with shops already starting to pump in the distinctive sounds of Christmas songs while we start our yearly spending.

That of course elicits numerous responses from the public, but the two major questions you’ll find being asked are “how long is it until Christmas now” and, of course, “why are they playing Christmas songs so early in shops?”

But it’s not just shops that are starting to make it feel a lot more like Christmas at this time of year, with radio stations slowly dropping the occasional yuletide anthem as they start to ramp up the festivities themselves.

So, that begs another two questions; when do shops know when to start playing Christmas songs and when is it “acceptable” to start playing Christmas songs in public? 

Well in terms of the former question, there is a certain psychology that some believe is the reason for the early Christmas songs being played while shopping, while in terms of the latter, a survey of Brits gave their opinion when it’s permissible to play Christmas songs around this time of year. 

So what’s the science behind Christmas songs being pumped into stores this early and when can you start playing ‘Last Christmas’ without feeling the wrath of family and friends in 2024? 

When is it “socially acceptable” to start playing Christmas songs around the house?

I mean, live your life - if you want to listen to Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas (Is You)’ in March, then by all means you’re free to do so.

But according to a YouGov poll conducted in 2021, 29% of people surveyed believed that November time is the most acceptable time for Christmas songs to start being played in shops or on the radio. 

Nearly half of those surveyed admitted that Christmas music in public is only acceptable from the beginning of December (47%), while 13% think that Christmas songs should only start being played from mid-December, while 5% said we should all wait for the week of Christmas. 

Spare a thought though for the 4% of those surveyed that said it’s never acceptable to play Christmas music out loud, be it in shops or on the radio.

Why do retailers start pumping Christmas songs in shops earlier each year? 

That reasoning is on ourselves - the consumer. There is one theory, the environmental security hypothesis, which means that we tend to be drawn to comforting, nostalgic music in colder weather months. Shops playing Christmas songs adds to that feeling of security, while panic buying before the big day.

But there is one core reason why retailers start playing Christmas music in what feels days earlier compared to other years; our shopping habits. 

Deloitte published the 2024 holiday retail survey which revealed that in the United States, those customers usually undertake their Christmas shopping 5.7 weeks before the big day. That works out to mid-November when they are expected to start their Christmas shop.

But the survey also showed that 38% of shoppers in the United States start their Christmas shopping when retailers start offering promotions around the October mark.

So with the idea of stores pumping in Christmas tunes to play off the environmental hypothesis, coupled with a growth of shoppers grabbing bargains when Christmas promotions begin, that’s why you might find yourself at some stage listening to ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ as early as late October at some point. 

Do you agree with the YouGov poll and think that Christmas songs should be played in mid November, or do you think a lot of people are acting like Ebenezer Scrooge and should enjoy the yuletide spirit earlier in the year? Let us know your thoughts or when you’ve first heard a Christmas song in shops in 2024.