Eight Ways to Weather Out
By The Mann Group
Follow these best practices when it comes to retail planning for seasonality and the unpredictable weather.
In outdoor retail, there is no profitability factor as impactful (or frustratingly) unpredictable as the weather. Despite analytics and predictions, regardless of spreadsheets and signs, it’s upon the Mother Nature that our sales often hinge. Turns out she’s a flighty and unfeeling mistress of our businesses.
If you’re a retailer specializing in snow and ski, a warm, sunny day in the dead of winter is your kryptonite. For retailers specializing in camping and hiking gear, that same day is their salvation. A string of rainy days could ruin a season for a cycling shop, a cold snap could derail a water sports buying plan, and a triple-digit heat wave could turn a profitable running season stagnant. Our sales are entirely dependent on the fickle shifts of the weather—but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do about it.
Though the inconsistency and unpredictability of the weather can act like a bowling ball on the best laid buying plan, it’s up to you to adapt and adjust your business to the mercurial whims of Mother Nature. You can’t change the weather, but you can operate well in the face of it if you follow these eight intentions:
1) Use Data and Predictions Wherever Possible
From year to year, weather only repeats a mere 15 percent of the time, making it difficult to predict its impact on your future sales, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Incorporate weather analysis into your buying plans as you prepare for the future. And though the weather may be fickle, your business’ trends are not. Consider not just last year’s sales but the sales of the previous three years when considering the effects of seasonality on your upcoming buying cycle.
2) Be Nimble with Your Product and Sales Strategy
The slopes aren’t snowy and your racks are stacked with ski gear—how do you react? Quickly and adaptively. Modern marketing like social media allows us to be flexible in our sales strategy: offer a sale on the equipment in anticipation of the season to (hopefully) come, or use the platform to remind customers of the other products you sell that aren’t so dependent on cold weather.
3) Create an Exit Strategy and Backup Plan
You know you can’t depend on a single product to make your business profitable, and the same concept applies to weather: don’t depend on a perfect season to make things right. With a contingency plan in place, you’re prepared to make the most of whatever weather comes your way. Don’t develop an attachment to product, and be realistic about when it’s time to move on; if weather and consumer demand didn’t meet your expectations, don’t hold onto it in the hopes that those facts might change. Instead, discount and move those ineffective products in order to make room for the next round.
4) Don’t Lose Steam
It’s easy for retailers and particularly those employees on the floor to sink into the doldrums when weather doesn’t go your way (it’s like seasonal depression for outdoor retail). Unfortunately, it’s an attitude that perpetuates and even exacerbates the cycle of unprofitability. It’s so important that employees maintain their motivation and spirit so that they can provide a consistent, engaging experience for the customers who do shop during the slumps.
5) Spoil the Customers You Do Have
In fact, the customers who venture in during cold snaps, heat waves, snow storms, and rain showers should be your most catered to clientele. There’s likely a higher ratio of employees to customers than normal, meaning there’s more opportunity to engage, converse, and sell. At the best retailers, when foot traffic is down, conversions and transaction amounts actually rise as employees have more opportunity to engage with the customer.
6) Engage with Customers Outside the Store
Even if customers aren’t coming in, that doesn’t mean you can’t stay top of their minds. Use these blights on your retail plan as an opportunity to up the ante on your social media to drive customers to your store. For example, this is a great time to run a contest on Instagram or to boost a post on Facebook. Remind customers that you’re here so that when the weather clears they’ll know exactly where to go.
7) Sustain Engagement Through Events
In addition to social media, events offer a great opportunity to engage with your customers outside the store and despite the weather. You can host workshops and educational events regardless of the weather, and it’s those events that hype customers and even your employees for the inevitable turn in the season. And as always, such events establish your retailer as an expert in the arena and a friendly resource for your sport.
8) Remain Optimistic
Rather than lament your bad luck, use your platforms—both online and in-store—to boost optimism for the days ahead. Social media posts laced with idealism will build customers’ anticipation for better weather (and your sales). Keep up motivation in-store so that employees are ready to sell when the time comes. And encourage your customers to get outside: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night can keep them inside forever!
About The Mann Group: We are The Mann Group, a charmingly incongruous and blatantly genuine group of big thinkers and list makers. Get us together, and our ideas bloom into vibrant, sky-high projects; take us apart, and we work methodically and assiduously to accomplish the goals we created together. We create and implement practical courses and curriculum to help businesses and individuals grow.