This is everywhere in windows with the Apple iPad for example, where the device is showing up in 1960s retro windows as the futuristic toy of choice. It is an interesting strategy to juxtapose these images, but it works really well to bring attention to the iPad and get customers thinking about it. The best holiday window displays do this interweaving of storytelling and product imagery so well it is not noticeable. The holiday window displays are very adept at painting these visual images, bringing in products to support the messaging and tying it all together with a holiday theme. One of the other factors about the windows is the amount of traffic they receive over time. Most of the viewing is done when people are going to and from work, Sundays, evening and during the holidays (Su, Myra, 1992). The permanence of the window displays through...

They also are most effective when they weave a story that includes many images and moments that evoke the emotions of the season, tying that into the products being sold. As studies show window displays are highly effective in selling products, it is understandable how the budgets and effort into holiday window displays continues to be invested in by stores (Su, Myra, 1992). There is also the social element of these investments in windows for the holidays, as each store wants to be the best in the city at this area of marketing and deliver excellent experiences.
References

Edwards, Su, & Shackley, Myra. (1992). Measuring the Effectiveness of Retail Window Display as an Element of the Marketing Mix. International Journal of…