THE FIFTH SEASON
by : James Ontko
12/2/2015
I used to be surprised by how the public has changed their attitude towards holidays but I was incorrect in placing that stigma on the public.  It seems that consumers were having an unspoken standoff with retailers for decades about who was going to confess what the holidays meant to either party.  I am not a religious person by any means, but I think that what is supposed to be one of the most holy times of the year is now the start of the new reality show "The Seven Deadly Sins" .  Consumers, media, and business are each planning their strategy months if not years in advance to become the winner of the game.  There are more statistical updates reported from July-December  on the forecast for the following months ahead and at 12am on Black Friday, the coverage on sales and profits for each industry is phenomenal.  The reports and statistics that are available for the final leg of the race of "The Seven Deadly Sins" is a bible for the retail industry to track consumers and patterns using all the psychological marketing techniques that were deployed during the race.   "The Fifth Season", as I call it, does not warrant a clever name which would cement it in our vocabulary.  It nestles itself between Fall and Winter and is a tumultuous time of the year that has absolutely nothing to do with the our lunar phase and where we stand in the universe.   At the start of the Fifth Season there seems to be a mob like attitude created and it has two teams "The Consumers" against "Retail Industry"  unknowingly the differences in the parties of each team are put aside during this season and forming super shoppers and super retailers.  Both teams rely on each bit of information from one another to get the most out of their opponent and shift the control of the price in their favor. 
This new season we have created which should evoke peace, kindness, joy, and love, has become one of the most stressful and exhausting times of the year and dreaded by many from the pressures of media expectations.    
The aftermath of the anarchy of the fifth season always has the effects of an addict going through withdrawal.  Consumers are physically and mentally drained and sometimes have put themselves in a financial sink hole and hitting rock bottom not even realizing how hypnotized they were by the fifth season and how addictive it is.  The retail industry may walk out a victor with record breaking profits but what happens at the end of the first quarter and their numbers are way below forecast?  They begin to cut back and possibly layoffs because they have in turn created much higher expectations from themselves with their success from the fifth season.  So was the race worth it?  It does not seem to matter because like addicts, we have a few months to get back on track and believe that it's not a problem and causing any disturbance in our lifestyles or changing who we are.  So the cycle begins again and will continue revolving and the true companies that will never go through such spikes that and leave them feeling empty are the true luxury brands that do not compromise their heritage and keep evolving with a with elegance and grace, and dictating their own speed of growth.
"American Profanity Donations"