Weather may hold the key for Easter retail success

In just a few days Easter will be upon us again and it’s traditionally a holiday period which retailers must capitalise on to sustain their efforts for the rest of the year. However, the weather can play a big part in determining the success of this four day break.

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce said of good weather, “You get a feelgood factor, marginal incremental spending and it can change the way people feel about the economy.”

The past couple of weeks have seen unseasonably warm weather in the UK but this is set to change this week with snow already causing problems in Scotland and a poor forecast expected further south.

We recall that last year warm weather over Easter caused a fall in chocolate sales, notably at troubled Thorntons while t-shirts and shorts saw an uplift.

So the lesson for all retailers whether bricks and mortar, pure play online or multichannel is to be agile and react quickly to the changeable heavens. This means preparing the supply chain and adapting promotions accordingly because one thing is for sure, customers will be quick to purchase a barbecue or a brolly and retailers need to be ready for the demand.

Blog by Tom Jones