EP 268: Never Underestimate the Power of Weather

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us!Full disclosure: Don’t ever underestimate the power of weather and its impact on retail. There is no other external driver that influences the consumer as frequently, meaningfully, and continuously as the weather. In fact, it influences more than a trillion dollars in retail sales on an annual basis. Join Shelley and Evan Gold of Planalytics as they discuss the fact that the weather is more volatile now than it ever has been before with extreme weather events occurring in the U.S. every three weeks. Evan explains that retailers need to proactively plan with demand forecast accuracy that can increase overall profitability up to 30 percent. Smart retailers incorporate weather analytics into their planning, so they are more weather aware and proactive instead of being reactive with flexible strategies in place as simple as putting weather-driven items in more prominent locations and ensuring the right staffing levels. The holiday selling season is subject to the weather since many retailers do 20% or even more of their annual sales in the month of December. Evan says the good news is that the first few weeks of December in the U.S. are going to continue with persistent, cold temperatures that are going to keep customers in that winter holiday mindset. Listen and learn why weather's a very emotional topic and when retailers can get all functions of their business on the same page by proactively strategizing weather’s complex nature, the outcome is more profitable. Special Guest: Evan Gold, EVP, Global Partnerships & Alliances, PlanalyticsFor more strategic insights and compelling content, visit TheRobinReport.com, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.