Retailers carrying a wide range of products face a wide range of shifting demand trends. The factors that influence what shoppers put in their carts – foods and beverages, personal care items, apparel and accessories, home goods, outdoor products – all vary daily and differently across store locations or markets. Planalytics’ predictive demand analytics for retail help businesses precisely measure and proactively manage the weather’s never-ending impact on operations and performance.
Day-to-day changes in the weather have a direct influence on the number of customer visits and the demand for specific products. Typically, retailers will find that sales will shift 3% to 5% throughout the year due to the weather, with even more sensitivity seen during certain times of the year and across different locations. At the product level, a retailer’s more weather-sensitive categories deal with great sales variability. Some examples: 33% (of annual sales) for fans, 11% for shorts, 15% for suncare products, 16% for pool toys, and 27% for electric blankets. (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.)
Department stores, discounters, and other mass merchants 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 and replenishment, WDD calculations allow retailers to better align regional or store inventories with projected weather-driven demand changes to take be in a position to capture sales opportunities and minimize inventory costs.
- For digital marketing, WDD analytics help businesses personalize campaigns and more optimize marketing spend by targeting customers that are more likely to buy due to the weather.
- For reporting & analysis, WDD metrics give retailers the ability to evaluate performance (such as regional sales, promotions, marketing campaigns, etc.) from a weather-adjusted viewpoint.
For more details, we invite you to request a financial benefit estimate for your business.
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