Hello Consumers!
I literally cannot wait for Christmas! Me and my boyfriend just finished decorating the house, looks like Santa’s Grotto now, and yesterday we went for Christmas Shopping in Manchester, so we have also finished all the presents! However, while walking in the super crowded shopping centre I had a thought about the reasons behind Christmas sales.
Retail markets are increasingly competitive and retailers continuously look to differentiate their retail offering especially during Christmas Time. One way in which marketers can offer the best experience to their costumers and increase the sales is through atmospherics in their shops. Atmospherics is considered to be the ability to modify in-store behaviour through the creation of an atmosphere and it is recognised by many retail executives and retail organisations. In a recent review of 60 experiments that manipulated portions of a store’s complex atmosphere, Turley and Milliman (2000) found that each of these studies results consisted in some statistically significant relationship between atmospherics and shopping behaviour.
In a recent study conducted by Michon, Chebat and Turley (2005), they investigated the effects of ambient odours in consumer behaviour while shopping in a real retail environment. Results of this study suggested that ambient odours positively influence shoppers’ perceptions only under the medium retail density condition. 
During the Christmas period, retailers modify the shopping environment adding Christmas decorations and aromas in order to make the experience of shopping more pleasant and appealing. However, recent studies have found that the factor of crowding is generally perceived as an unpleasant experience for consumers leading to reduced satisfaction.
Why are shops always so busy during Christmas Period then?
The effect of crowding on consumer perceptions, emotions, and satisfaction varies depending on shoppers’ motivations or personal goals, but often crowding is likely to create some psychological stress and increased arousal on consumers who feel a loss of personal space ( Stokols,1972). 
In the study conducted by Michon, Chebat and Turley (2005) they decided to manipulate the factor of crowding and they found very interesting results. For example, they examined the shop atmospherics during three different levels of crowding and they found that during the low level, the majority of people shopping were older people (mean = 40 years old vs. 36 during high-density periods), have less formal education (mean = 11 years against 12 during peak hours), and are less likely to work full time. Busy people may not have time to shop during more quiet retail hours and this is why is important to keep in consideration the factor of demographics when analysing retail density levels. Another interesting result is that the medium level of density is efficient to manipulate odours while the most crowed level is resulted to be efficient to manipulate lighting, which they can be perceived from everyone, while odours dissolve easier.
In conclusion, don’t let be down by busy places during Christmas time, at the end of the day is the best time of the year!
Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!
Hope you all have a fantastic holidays!
InstaConsumer 
This was an interesting post! There are so many reasons why shops are so busy during the holidays, so busy that they have to hire extra staff, change their hours and so on. The Michon, Chebat and Turley (2005), the study was interesting and this reminds me of how the restaurant Subway will pump out the familiar smell of bread baking to attract customers.
Another reason it might be so popular to shop during Christmas is that it is expected of consumers. With events such as black friday in America or European Christmas markets, these are designed with the intention of encouraging people to buy products and spend money.
In American malls, the decorations are key to encouraging customers. In the middle of the mall near where I grew up, Santa’s house would be set up and children could take pictures with him. During Easter, the Easter bunny would be available for photos. This turns the shopping experience into more of a Christmas destination, just like the markets in the UK.
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