The  Shop early, start wrapping, enjoy Christmas campaign was presented by the BRC as a way 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.  With social distancing measures and other restrictions in place, retailers are urging customers to begin shopping earlier to "help make sure everyone – shoppers, store colleagues, warehouse workers and delivery drivers – has the space they need to stay safe and deliver the magic of Christmas".  

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

“Whilst 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. However, we want more people to embrace the true Christmas spirit, think of others and ‘Shop Early, Start Wrapping’ and most of all Enjoy Christmas – however they are celebrating”, commented Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium.

The BRC campaign started in mid-October in national and local radio stations and will run across national print and social channels through until early November.