Retailers look to outsmart Mother Nature
OCTOBER 3, 2014
Many industry watchers point out that retailers conveniently use weather as an excuse to explain away a given quarter's poor sales. While that may be true of some, there are plenty of indications (think grocery stores right before a winter storm is expected) that weather can affect a retailer's sales for good as well as bad.
Macy's Inc., a company not known for making excuses, provides an example of the influence of weather on sales. While the company has built a robust online business, it was not enough to help the retailer overcome the horrible weather that gripped much of the U.S. during the first quarter of this year. Conversely, the parent company of Macy's and Bloomingdale's reported a pickup in sales as soon as warmer temperatures began in April.
Retailers are increasingly making use of internal and external services to stay ahead of changing weather conditions and use that information to better serve customers and drive sales.
The City Wire reported yesterday that Walmart, for example, pairs weather information with sales data and merchandise to run targeted promotions. Those promotions could include offers on allergy medicines on the company's mobile app, its in-store network and on social media when the pollen count jumps in a given area.
Target's Corporate Communications Center (C3) in Minneapolis is used for around-the-clock monitoring to help the company respond to severe weather conditions.
A 2009 Star Tribune report provides insights into how C3 works. Teams representing every division within the company are assembled when a severe weather event such as a blizzard are identified. Merchandising makes sure that items such as shovels, batteries and bottled water are sent to stores in the storm's path, human resources looks at ways to get associates to stores, etc.
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