If it seems like fall décor and seasonal food and drinks are arriving earlier each year, it's not just in your head.Data show consumers are increasingly embracing "season creep" — shopping for seasonal products earlier than they did in years past.Younger consumers' enthusiasm for fall, a desire to plan ahead and retailers' efforts to extend seasonal spending may all be helping drive the shift.STARBUCKS TO PROMPT MORE TIPPING ON CARD PAYMENTS, FUELING 'TIP CREEP' BACKLASHLast year, the popular pumpkin spice latte (PSL) returned to Dunkin' on Aug.20 and to Starbucks on Aug.
26.Both coffeehouse chains brought their fall offerings back a day earlier this year, with Dunkin' launching its fall menu on Aug.
19 and Starbucks bringing back its PSL on Aug.25, Florida Today reported.Data from online grocery delivery and pickup service Instacart showed that in 2024, "the seasonal peak for orders containing pumpkin spice items occurred on September 17, a full 10 days earlier than in 2023."Starbucks and Dunkin' are bringing back their popular pumpkin spice offerings earlier this year.
(Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)Demand also cooled sooner, according to Instacart, though orders for pumpkin spice items, such as flavored coffee creamers and yogurts, spiked again in November as Thanksgiving drew near.Food delivery service DoorDash reported in 2025 that "pumpkin spice is brewing sooner than ever."CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERPSL demand spiked on Aug.19, nearly two weeks earlier than in 2021, the company reported.DoorDash also found that grocery orders for ingredients used to make fall-inspired drinks at home began spiking in late July.According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 49% of consumers said in 2025 that they would begin shopping for Halloween before October, compared with 34% a decade earlier.Retailers are leaning into "season creep" as shoppers begin buying fall and Halloween products earlier in the ...