Content area
Full text
Retailing is a weatherdependent business. Abnormally cold weather in the early winter is likely to trigger a pick up in winter apparel demand; abnormally wet weather in the spring, however, can have just the reverse impact. Moreover, different segments of the retail industry react differently to weather. This observation is, of course, no surprise to the retail industry.
Too often, however, weather impacts are viewed by retailers and analysts alike solely as a reason for the consumer to defer or accelerate purchases. In reality the weather-consumption channel is far more complex.
Weather influences on consumer spending fall into three categories based on their breadth and duration of impact, and each has a different marketing/planning strategy attached to it.
The most short-term and narrow-based geographic impact can be dubbed the "purchase timing thesis." This view is that weather anomalies-blizzards in the Midwest, floods in the West,...