Sears and Kmart bring Christmas to July

If you're the type to be annoyed by the ever earlier appearance of holidays, you're going to really hate this: Christmas Lane (beware: there's Christmas music that autoplays) at Sears and Kmart, an online holiday shop. Open now.

That's right. Sears Holdings (Kmart's parent company) is promoting and selling gifts and decorations in the heat of summer. But is this Christmas "creep" of the highest order or smart marketing?

There's a reason why the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It's the traditional start of the winter holiday shopping season, and the day when retailers expect to move from red to black -- from losing money to being profitable.

Not all retailers lose money the remaining 10 months of the year. But for those that are struggling, the holidays are do or die. And Sears and Kmart are struggling.