We’ve often said that you if you plotted daily sales volume against outside temperature you’d find a pretty good correlation. Now some recent research by a UK search marketing agency has suggested a similar thing.

The research showed that online searches rose by an average of almost 7% on bad weather days, but fell by an average of 11% on days when the weather was good. The dramatic increase of 39.5% happened though on days when bad weather followed a period of good (and the sun worshippers went back indoors to do their accounts, search for a loan or sort out the holiday insurance).
Conversely, when the weather improved after a bad spell, search volumes dropped by 31% below average (and presumably everyone went to the beach or park instead).

“Traditional retailers have been studying the vagaries of the British weather for many years and know if the umbrellas or the suntan lotion should be displayed prominently in the front of store. By checking the weather and past data, and knowing when online traffic is likely to rise or dip, retailers have the arsenal to entice customers to whichever channel suits the conditions outside.”

So how can a UK online retailer take advantage of this predictable consumer behaviour?

The key is being able to adjust your online strategy quickly - the electronic equivalent to walking out the front of your shop and switching the umbrellas for the sun-tan lotion. For example, being able to rapidly change which items are promoted on the home page of your eCommerce website, adjust bidding strategic on paid search keywords and use targeted special offers and promotions to turn browsers into buyers are all effective tactics.

We’d love to hear any clever ways you have adjusted your strategy in response to weather forecasts. What have you tried? What has worked the best?

Now all we need are for the meteorologists to get their forecasts right once in a while!

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