Seasonal demand dynamics cover for loss of sales

Sunny skies and winter blues may imply like and dislike for stepping out and shopping, but a physical retail report by RetailNext says otherwise.

Analyzing over 13 million shopping trips, the report found that the highest levels of foot traffic, transactions sales and average transaction value (ATV) occurred on August 2, 2014, which was recorded as the coolest day since 2009. On contrary, July 21, when the weather patterns were relatively dry and warm across country, the sales, foot traffic and ATV were at the lowest.

While July this year showed a 3.5 percent boost in sales since last year, the average 7.8 percent year-over-year decline continued into 2014. However, the average transaction value showed a 6.7 percent improvement covering for the decline in sales and foot traffic, according to the report.

The report also found wide regional disparities among shoppers across the US as the weather patterns increased sales of seasonal goods. For example, demand for seasonal goods fueled a seven percent increase in sales per shopper (SPS) among Northeastern states. The Midwest was observed as the worst performer with the largest sales decline of 8.7 percent, traffic decline of nine percent with a 0.4 percent increase in SPS in the region.