• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 28, 2010

No, it isn't your imagination: More than ever, Christmas is creeping up on Halloween. From references to "doorbusters" –a word most of America associates with the day after Thanksgiving—in JCPenney ads during the World Series, to Kohl's new holiday campaign, to Target's major pre-Thanksgiving promotion, retailers are determined to get consumers shopping sooner.

"It is starting earlier," Scott Erickson, a partner in the retail practice of Deloitte, which just released a major holiday spending survey, tells Marketing Daily. "A lot of retailers are seeing that consumers have been a little reluctant to break out their wallets, and they are really believing that the November/December timeframe are going to be critical. They are trying to take advantage of that by moving the holiday period into October if they can."

Kohl's, for examples, says its new holiday campaign, themed "Give, Save and Be Merry!", is set to break in print, direct mail, e-mail, digital and social media, as well as TV and radio. (It's also launching new mobile access to Kohls.com.) The company says it is stepping up the number of Power Hour, Bonus Buy, Early Bird and two-day special offers throughout the season.