Holiday Homestretch: The Weather Gives Store Traffic a Boost
Retailers are in the final stretch of the 2023 holiday shopping season with the week closing on December 23rd – Super Saturday – when an estimated 142 million shoppers are expected to hit the stores according to the National Retail Federation.
Super Saturday is typically one of the largest volume shopping days of the year, and with Christmas only hours away, many consumers flock to the stores as the window for having online shopping orders delivered is often closed. This year, most of the highly populated eastern and midwestern markets will see a dry day and milder temperatures compared to last year. The lack of snow, rain, and other traffic-limiting weather will get more shoppers into stores for last-minute gift buying in these markets. And compared to the bitter cold experienced in many locations this same week last year, more people will be venturing out and boosting sales at stores and restaurants.
Planalytics has partnered with pass_by to develop Weather-Driven Traffic metrics which isolate and quantify the impact that changes in weather conditions alone have on store visits. Weather-Driven Traffic combines weather-driven business insights with precise foot traffic data to give retailers visibility into changing consumer behavior.
Examples of Weather-Driven Traffic projections for this week (Dec. 17-23) compared to last year:
The drenching rain that worked its way up the East Coast over the weekend has now cleared out and the week is set up to support store traffic in all retail sectors, including the ones highlighted above. Demand for coats, gloves, boots, etc. and other winter season categories will be strongest in the East where temperatures will be seasonally cool. However, on a year-over-year comp basis, these products face headwinds due to the bone-chilling readings during this week last year.
For more retail traffic insights and category-specific demand impacts, contact Planalytics.