New programmes for UK retailers focus on the correlation of sales data and weather events.
The MetraWeather Insights Discovery Programme is a series of sponsored scientific and data-based studies delivering UK retailers personalised insights into how to leverage high-impact weather events and mitigate risks and losses as a consequence of weather-related sales disruption.
The studies focus on correlating sales data and the impact of weather events across retail horizons over the previous three years.
The studies are applicable to:
- FMCG and supermarkets
- Fashion retailers
- Convenience stores
- DIY
- Outdoor recreation
- Gardening supplies and outdoor furniture
- Electrical products
- Suppliers, producers and manufacturers
Programme goals
The Insights Discovery Programme aims to corroborate the specific impacts of weather events on retailer revenues including:
- Weather-related opportunities, for example hot summer days and BBQs, alfresco dining and outdoor furniture.
- Weather-related disruptions and seasonal variations such as a cool spring, warm autumn or a very cold winter.
- Reducing losses through wastage and spoilage due to supply chain disruptions, reduced footfall and changes in shopping or consumer behaviours.
- Mitigating the risks arising from severe weather events such as flooding, snow, wind, energy outages and consequential disruption to transport systems and supply chain infrastructure.
- Evaluating the financial implications on retail trading from more severe or extreme weather events.
Insights Discovery
MetraWeather meteorologists and business analysts work alongside our clients to build a picture of the trading environment using client-supplied data at various resolutions or granularity.
We study your buyer decision practices, the procurement process, your supply chain, the seasonal variables and how you have responded to particular circumstances by, for example, producer communications; initiating promotional campaigns; planning rotations or stock transfers; initiating sales, specials and markdowns; and hedging strategies based upon probabilistic demand forecasting.
We may look at product comparisons and the weather thresholds that see customers change their preferences or move to other products. We will look to illustrate the cost to you of product shortfall through a disrupted supply chain which leaves shelves empty, or valuable produce spoiling in warehouses. We’ll investigate how the adoption of certain strategies in response to particular forecasts might deliver more positive outcomes than simply waiting for the weather to make up its mind.
We can analyse the impact (or not) of weather on online shopping and footfall, evaluate the capability of your organisation to universally understand and act upon meteorological guidance, and the implications and advantages of hedging or calculating the degree of risk and opportunity (and the most appropriate and valuable responses).
Most importantly we seek to understand through the Discovery Insights Programme where, across your retail operations, you have major concerns about the threats and impacts of weather events on your bottom line.