Elections, hurricane damage and more: Here are four factors that will shape holiday shoppers’ purchases
By Melissa Repko
Inflation may have cooled, but retailers are still staring down a holiday season with plenty of uncertainty.
Several hard-to-predict factors will influence consumers’ spending, as they deck the halls and look for the perfect gifts. Volatile weather, election distraction and a deal-hunting mindset may shape the season. And fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas than last year will put shoppers on the clock. . . .
Hurricane damage and winter temperatures
For retailers, cooler and wintery weather is always on the Christmas wish list.
Weather can tip shoppers into the holiday spirit and get them in the mood to buy thicker sweaters, coats and gifts, said Evan Gold, executive vice president for Planalytics, a Philadelphia-based company that advises retailers on weather-related inventory planning.
“There’s no external factor that influences consumers’ purchases as directly, frequently and immediately as the weather,” he said.
This year, the early fall got off to a rockier start. The now unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season marked by October sales events coincided with unseasonably warm temperatures in San Francisco and other parts of the country, and severe hurricanes that battered North Carolina and Florida. That makes shoppers less likely to want to buy sweaters, coats and artificial trees.
Yet the weather this year should eventually help retailers, Gold said, since November and December temperatures are expected to be colder than a year ago. He said the shift in weather, such as a dusting of snow or a cold snap, can help signal shoppers to get ready for the season. . . .