Dunelm has posted a sales surge after wet weather boosted footfall. Can other retailers make the rain work for them?

Why are we talking about this now?

Homewares retailer Dunelm posted a like-for-likes surge of 10.4% in the 13 weeks to June 30 as wet weather boosted footfall in Dunelm’s stores. The retailer said the wet weather led to a total revenue advance of about £8m in the quarter.

Which other retailers can benefit from wet weather?

Maureen Hinton, retail analyst at Verdict research, says department stores can be among the beneficiaries – John Lewis’s figures support that, with June sales performing well. “People want to get in from the cold and they can spend a lot of time in a department store,” she says. Shopping centres tend to do better for that reason as well. Homewares retailers such as Dunelm, meanwhile, benefit from the fact that people tend to spend more time at home when it rains. “People start thinking about brightening their home up, especially now when people aren’t moving house much,” Hinton says. Online trading also tends to improve when it rains as people stay indoors.

Which retailers suffer during wet weather?

Planet Retail’s Rob Gregory says clothing retailers rely on sunny weather to prompt customers to buy a new summer wardrobe and tend to suffer during any kind of unseasonal weather. DIY retailers also hate the rain - retailers including B&Q and Homebase have blamed April’s awful weather for sales slumps, with gardening and DIY projects relying heavily on decent weather for their completion.

How can retailers combat the effects of poor weather?

With weather patterns so unpredictable it’s a difficult one to tackle. Hinton says retailers can lessen their exposure by increasing the range of products they offer and stocking products that sell in different types of weather. Improving the range is particularly important in clothing retailers. “It’s about having the bridge ranges and transition ranges – clothes than can be layered and tops with sleeves, for instance,” says Hinton. Having more options available beyond the high summer ranges will give consumers choice when it’s warmer but wet. Ultimately, it may come down to having a more flexible supply chain that can react quickly to difficult weather conditions.

Hinton adds that there is more retailers can do to help them predict and react to weather trends. “There are a few trends that retailers never really seem to take much notice of, such as the fact we often tend to have a warmer Autumn. Responding to weather patterns is an area that should be developed more strongly.”

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