If you read back about a year I think I posted about the hideous retail habit of forcing the seasons forward at breathtaking speed cycling me closer and closer to some unpredictable end. As you may already know I'm not thrilled with this shit.
This year, for some weird reason, I have to say that my local stores don't seem to be on this death march. By mid-August last year my local grocery store had their Halloween displays out. This year there is an obvious switch to that from the barbeque items of a few weeks ago but it isn't in your face, crazy displays dripping with Halloween stuff. It's just that a few shelves have started to roll over to Halloween from summer sun.
I have to say that everything seems more evenly parsed out this year. Maybe it's the recession or maybe a few marketing folks realized how creepy THEY feel when they walk into a store and feel that life is being forced right past them.
This year the back to school assault came appropriately after July 4th in most cases (let's leave Target out of this since they had moved on by Father's Day, summer moved quickly through the aisles of Target this year) and even now with Labor Day looming large on the calendar ahead I'm not seeing too much season-specific stuff clogging the shopping aisles.
Hubby and I hit up the local outlet center a few weeks ago thinking there'd be slim picken's for summer stuff but we were pleasantly surprised to find great sales and TONS of summer stuff. We weren't assaulted by wool and flannel with the lightweight summer cotton relegated to a back wall of the store, nope, front and center screaming "BUY ME…CHEAP!" was where we found the summer stuff. Wonderful, glorious, seasonal stuff…in SEASON!
I actually think that the smart retailers are sneaking in a few other buying seasons between the big ones, benign stuff that is really not associated with any one time of year or a particular holiday or event. Things like furniture and home appliances seem to be filling the gap and this makes good marketing sense. You've just lived through summer, you've had wet towels draped on every surface in your home, you've had piles of kids eating and drinking in the family room, your spouse has embarked on some half-assed projects that left you more in ruins than repair. What to do? Spruce up the joint a bit. Buy that new sofa you've been thinking about. Upgrade the bathroom vanity.
It sorta hints that you know you'll be entertaining guests soon but you're not quite draped in garland and humming White Christmas just yet.
I hope I'm not imagining this. I hope this is a trend that can stick around for a while. Let's let things coast along, let's enjoy each time of the year in its own time (not 4 months before its time).
Not every item for sale needs to be associated with a holiday or a season, sometimes retailers and marketers can just MARKET to us without putting us through a forced march through the seasons.
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