Weather – a relevant economic factor
Who has not experienced this? We get up in the morning and check the weather, plan our day and our free time accordingly, and are in a better or worse mood depending on our personal preferences. One thing is clear: weather is ever present. This applies to everyday life as well as to business life. After all, there is hardly an industry whose success is not also dependent on the weather. Many companies are aware of the weather’s influence, but underestimate it due to a lack of accurate calculations or solutions.
From planning to controlling – in this article we explain what weather data is all about and why it’s so valuable for many businesses.
“Not all weather is the same”: Weather effects vary by product, location and channel
Rain, sun, wind, too hot, too cold – all these parameters are key purchase and sales drivers, and the link between weather and product demand covers almost every industry.
But stop! Before you think, this is interesting, but not relevant for me, I don’t sell any weather-dependent products – it’s definitely worth reading on. The reason: weather effects are not always obvious, but they play an important role regarding so many products.
More than just sunscreen – weather effects vary by product
Different weather conditions trigger internal sensitivities that influence consumer decisions. Scientists at the University of Western Ontario came to this conclusion. Using the example of sunlight, they were able to show that the willingness to spend more money behaves similarly across completely different products.
But rain and temperature can also have a decisive influence on the sale of products.
Hamburg or Munich – weather effects vary depending on location
Especially the first half of the summer 2020 was the best proof that weather can vary regionally and temporally. Compared to 2019 there were significantly fewer heat days in 2020, in some regions it rained much more and the sunshine duration was also below the previous year. For advertisers, for example, this means that the success of a campaign depends to a large extent on where the target group is currently located and what the weather is like there. If Hamburg is in the mood for ice cream at around 20 degrees, it has to be at least 5 degrees warmer in southern Germany.
Online or stationary – weather effects vary depending on the channel
Some studies show that traffic in online stores increases on “bad weather days,” while it tends to decrease on sunny and warm days.[1]
A similar conclusion can be drawn from the following analysis for the fashion market, which shows the impact of weather on market interest per channel for 2019. For example, a cold May led people to do more online shopping. A golden October and a warm Advent, on the other hand, created more activity downtown. When it was 40 degrees at the end of June, hardly anyone was really in the mood for shopping – either online or stationary.
But: General statements should be taken with caution here, because weather-related demand can vary from industry to industry, from product to product, and from channel to channel. This makes it all the more important for brands and advertisers to be aware of the influence of weather on their products.
Weather influences all stages of the value chain
Weather offers opportunities for optimization and revenue growth along the entire value chain: from planning to advertising and control of content to pricing and performance analysis. In our whitepaper “Weatherize you Business – How to increase your revenue with weather data”, we have compiled various use cases that show how you can profitably leverage weather effects and easily integrate our weather solutions.
Things to remember: Weather is …
- a good (sales) predictor.
- an important economic factor, but weather effects are not trivial. They vary by product, location and channel.
- relevant at different stages of the value chain and offers numerous opportunities to optimize processes, make smarter decisions and increase sales.
[1] https://www.richrelevance.com/blog/2012/08/15/what-happens-with-online-shopping-when-it-rains/; https://webrepublic.com/de/news/blog/welchen-einfluss-hat-das-wetter-auf-das-online-kaufverhalten/