One sector that is being impacted by changing weather patterns is fashion.
It is getting tougher to predict consumer behaviour as they waver between winter coats and summer t-shirts. Seasons that were once clearly defined are no longer fixed in time. Because of this, it is more difficult for retailers to decide what to sell when.
Europe’s recent winter was its second warmest on record. While certain regions—including portions of Spain and France—are experiencing a drought, other others are dealing with significant rainfall.
This has an effect on summer clothes sales in Italy. According to Reuters, in reaction, apparel stores OVS and Pianoforte Holding plan to postpone their summer clearance sales.
The start of the Italian sale season is often decided by local authorities at the beginning of July. Similar to the United States, France too has prefect-determined selling dates that typically start at the end of June.
According to reports, Italian merchants intend to push out the start of the summer sales until mid-July. This may develop as a trend throughout Europe as summers get later and longer.
According to the 2018 ‘Weather to Shop’ study from the British Retail Consortium and the UK’s Met Office, temperature differences can lower sales of women’s clothes by £ 11 million (€ 12.7 million) for every degree it is warmer than the previous year.
According to data from the Swedish marketing firm Tradedoubler, rainy weather increases online sales while sunny weather decreases them since more customers choose to visit physical stores.
Weather extremes have an effect on the entire supply chain. According to government statistics, 33 million people in Pakistan were impacted by the terrible floods last year, which also accounted for 40 per cent of the nation’s annual cotton production. Supply chains are being impacted by unpredictable weather in China, India, Brazil, and other countries.