Theoretically, Christmas starts on December 24. Or the 22nd at the earliest, if we decide that the start signal is the extraordinary lottery draw. That’s in theory, of course. In Spain, cities start putting up lights and decorations earlier and earlier for festivals, and it’s no longer strange that the lighting of the lights is celebrated (with Macro party included) in mid-November. However, there is one sector that goes into ‘party mode’ a long time ago: the supermarket, which has shelves full of nougat, marzipan, polvorones and panettones for weeks.
So much so that it’s no longer weird to overlap back-to-school, Halloween and Christmas items on its shelves, a strategy that makes perfect sense.
Are we at Christmas already? no Although if you visit your neighborhood supermarket you probably won’t see that clearly. For weeks now, the big chain’s shelves have been stocked with a wide assortment of nougat, panettone, marzipan and the usual holiday desserts. It’s nothing extraordinary. Food distribution companies such as Carrefour, Mercadona or Alcampo have been promoting Christmas sales for years, but it’s still hard not to get the feeling that sweets have reached their shelves early.
And is it like that? The EFE organization believes so. And it offers a revelation: even though we’re still in early November, with Christmas Eve and Halloween just days away from nearly two months away, the sector has already studied how Christmas shopping is progressing in 2026. The agency specifically cited a report from consulting firm Circana, which concluded that Christmas may even begin before the sweets begin in September.
What does the data say? Not surprisingly, the industry began to monitor sales in the summer, with thermometers nearing 30ºC in most parts of the country and many families still on vacation. What’s really interesting is that Circana data shows that, in fact, we’re spending more money on sweets than last year.
The consulting firm estimates that the market for nougat, panettone, marzipan and other sweets associated with winter grew by 6.2% to 506.5 million euros in September. Of course, there is a ‘but’: the increase in business is explained by the increase in the price of goods (+10%). In reality, demand fell by 3.8%. In general we bought fewer traditional Nougat tablets, but sales of “other specialties” in the sector skyrocketed, growing 34.3% in turnover and 27% in demand in September.
What can we expect? In general, people will spend more this Christmas than in 2025. At least that’s what a recent report by Sensormatic Solutions predicts that average Spanish household spending will increase by 4.5% to 482.9 euros this holiday. The study only talks about ‘gifts’, but it gives us a clue about food spending behaviour. Just a year ago, another Erosky analysis estimated that the household budget for Christmas food would increase that campaign by 30%, to around 120 euros.
Why advance sales? for various reasons. One of them is purely logistics. The sale of Christmas sweets has not only advanced, it has (and above all) diversified. This is something that is clearly seen in the Nougat sector. While a decade ago supermarket shelves included only a few brands and a few varieties, now the catalog has expanded in an extraordinary way with new manufacturers and flavors.
There are no longer just chocolate and nut bars, now you can find ham nougats, doughnuts, chips or even pet nougats. And that’s just to name a few examples. Greater variety translates into greater volumes of greater merchandise and, consequently, greater logistics effort. Efe specifies that for supermarkets, Christmas means incorporating “up to 300 additional references” into their organization. Perhaps no event has changed the daily life of the healthcare sector so much. Retail Spanish like Christmas.
Is it then a question of operation? no Being more forward-thinking may make things easier for supermarkets, but that’s not the only reason they’ve been selling Christmas items for years. They start stocking shelves with nougat and panettone already in autumn, decorating their stores with lights and garlands and broadcasting Christmas carols to create an atmosphere that facilitates sales. It’s nothing new. A concept used in the sector, decanting (day + Marketing), which takes advantage of specific dates to clarify sales campaigns.
Does it work? If you start selling earlier, you’ll likely sell more. And this is a valuable advantage for a sector (Christmas sweets) that is increasingly ambitious and forced to focus a large part of its activity on just a few months of the year. As cities opt for streetscapes, they face two more hurdles. First, the tempos They are set by the city council which decides to turn on the lights in November. Second, street markets that sell many of the same items that supermarkets offer are becoming popular.
Are there more reasons? yes However, many families choose to simplify or order out Christmas dinner the merchant And catering services, employers in the sector also recognize that families are moving their shopping forward. They don’t wait until December to buy sweets, meat, fish and seafood. They plan spending and dose it throughout the week to lighten the impact on the domestic economy. It’s a strategy that companies like OCU have been encouraging to follow for some time, which also explains why supermarkets are increasingly rushing to fill their shelves with Christmas products, such as nougat.
Picture | Angie Six (Flickr) and Grupo Iroski S.Koop (Flickr)
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