Rock County shoppers making a last-minute trip for Halloween supplies will likely need to wade through Christmas displays at local retailers.
UW-Whitewater economics professor Russ Kashian says stores want shoppers to spend money at their establishment first. He says whoever moves first has the advantage and stores are afraid of being left behind.
Kashian says about 40 percent of annual retail sales come during the Christmas season. If a store misses out on that market, they're in big trouble. According to Kashian, people in the 19th century complained about Christmas being too commercialized...and it's probably not heading in the opposite direction.