Too soon? Woolworths joins Coles in rolling out Christmas treats months ahead of December

Woolworths has released its first round of Christmas treats – yes, in August – hot on the heels of Coles, where festive favourites hit shelves in July.

“We know it might feel early to see Christmas treats hitting the shelves, but this is something we do every year,” a spokesperson for the supermarket told nine.com.au.

“A lot of our customers love getting a head start. Whether they’re trying to spread the cost of the holidays over a few months, locking in their favourite fruit cakes early, or just eager for a taste of festive flavours, there’s genuine interest from day one.

“As we get closer to Christmas, the full range of festive food will be available, and we can’t wait for customers to try some of the exciting new products we’ll be bringing into stores.”

The early arrival of Christmas puddings, mince pies, fruit cakes and sweet treats has become commonplace in Australian supermarkets, along with Easter products such as hot cross buns appearing on shelves well before the last string of tinsel has been removed.

Read more

A dietitian ranked every popular milk – and the winner isn’t what you might expect

Coles released its initial range of holiday foods and treats to take advantage of ‘Christmas in July’ celebrations. Some were available for July only, while others will remain on shelves for the remainder of the year as a lead in to the festive season.

Coles’ Development and Innovation Chef Michael Weldon told nine.com.au the focus of the retailer’s 2026 Christmas range would be pre-prepared products and other time-savers.

“People are wanting to do more than cooking, and we are in a cost of living crisis ... we want to deliver a great Christmas to our customers, and make sure we take care of the people at all costs and all sort of preferences,” he said.

“We have a team now that work on Christmas year-round, so it’s pretty exciting.”

While some shoppers embrace early Christmas treats, others may be less pleased by the reminder the end of the year, marked by the festive season, is near.

Gavin Northey, a consumer expert from Griffith University, explained the possible strategies behind major supermarkets releasing core Christmas items months in advance.

He told nine.com.au retailers often release seasonal products outside of peak sales periods as a “soft launch” to gauge interest in different products and “pricing in particular”.

“That said, products like puddings and fruit mince pies have incredibly long shelf lives, so not only does this get the product on the shelves early to maximise sales, it also eases the supermarket’s supply chain and logistics,” he said.

Read more

Woolworths confirms major sales boost following Disney Ooshies craze

Northey said some seasonal items are deemed by customers to be “low cost, low risk” purchases consumers might buy as a pantry item “just in case”, not to mention the feelings of nostalgia these items may trigger.

These include any product with a long shelf life including puddings, mince pies, and fruit cakes.

Others may be left feeling less than happy with the festive displays.

“Research we have recently conducted tells us some consumers will see seasonal products and consider them as totally inappropriate for the given time of year,” Northey said.

“They literally rate the experience as ‘temporally inappropriate’ and this can have a negative influence on their attitude to the product, the manufacturer and the retailer.”

Although, Coles and Woolworths releasing early Christmas products seemingly in tandem may mitigate some of this negativity.

“From a strategic standpoint, maybe the supermarket is looking to move products like this early, because they might be lower margin, to free up shelf space for higher margin products closer to the seasonal event,” Northey speculated.

“Also, retailers don’t want ‘dead’ trading weeks, so anything to motivate consumers and generate sales are always going to be popular with retailers.”