How the weather affects business profitability

Last week, news and authorities urged people to stay indoors to avoid life-threatening cold conditions.  Schools closed, businesses closed, and most of us went into a hibernation state of living.  The last time a city in Wisconsin was close to -18 below wind chill was 1979. 

Although this extreme weather is not typical or frequent, there is still a legitimate concern regarding how harsh weather conditions effect business.  (Both positive and negative.) While it's true nothing can be done to prevent the weather, the way consumers and businesses react is quite interesting.   

According to Bloomberg Blizzard Business, these businesses are in higher than usual demand:

·         Home Depot, Lowes

·         Energy Companies

·         Generator Companies

·         Hospitals & Care Clinics

·         Snow Removal Companies

·         Online Retail

More than the weather the affected BonTon's sales, here's an interesting article:  

When people postpone buying, it can be a real mess for retail.  “Bon-Ton says stores stung by bad winter; warns of possible 2013 loss…”

Article from The Wall Street Journal:  The Weather Channel forecasts what consumers will buy and where advertisers should place spots.

There just isn't a good amount of research to share regarding the effect of weather on small business, but I could speculate that the experience is far more extreme.  For many businesses, the influence of weather is very real.  If the same weather doesn’t repeat itself each year, sales results will fluctuate.  So much so, that it’s often built into sales forecasts along with potential economic and specific marketplace conditions. Because weather absolutely affects the bottom line, companies big, and small, must constantly prepare and react to the changes and challenges that come along with it.

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