Home centers and hardware stores often see dramatic sales fluctuations based on when and where customers decide to work on their lawns & gardens, exterior maintenance, indoor projects, and more. Planalytics’ predictive demand analytics for DIY retailers enable companies to adjust inventories based on when, where, and how much the sales of specific products will increase or decrease due to the weather, the most impactful and volatile external driver of day-to-day purchasing decisions.
Changes in the weather increase or decrease traffic levels and overall transactions at DIY retailers an average of 3.7% throughout the year with even more sensitivity seen in specific geographical markets or time periods. For example, 6.9% of overall sales in the U.S. are directly tied to the weather in March, the critical start to the spring selling season for the sector. For particularly weather-sensitive product categories the weather-driven sales variability is even more pronounced. A handful of examples: 12% (of annual sales) for outdoor pest control products, 17% for lawn mowers, 32% for heaters, 9% for exterior paints & stains, and over 55% for ice melt. (Note that the above examples are industry metrics. Planalytics also provides specific weather impact models based on retailer-specific sales data, locations, store types or channels, etc.)
DIY retailers can integrate predictive Weather-Driven Demand (WDD) analytics into existing processes and technology solutions to grow profit margins through increased sales and lower costs.
- For planning and allocation, WDD metrics help remove the weather bias from plan baselines and calculate year-over-year plan adjustments to keep businesses from inadvertently “chasing” last year’s weather-based sales impacts ultimately minimizing unproductive inventory and markdowns while limiting lost sales.
- For in-season replenishment, WDD forecasts enable companies better align store-level inventories with shifts in consumer to demand by factoring in how upcoming weather conditions are going to change sales volumes.
- For digital marketing, WDD analytics help retailers improve click-throughs, sales, ROAS and more by targeting consumers that are ready to buy with relevant content.
For more details, we invite you to request a financial benefit estimate for your business.
Additional Insights
