Frigid December may freeze out store traffic, holiday sales in drug

Drug Store News, Oct 11, 2004

The vast three Decembers all have trended on the very warm side, ranging from the 12th-warmest to the 21st-warmest in 110 years. This has impacted seasonal sales negatively, though the mild weather around the holidays last year did help store traffic for a late surge.

The streak ends this year with what will be the 2nd-coldest December in more than a decade, according to SDI/ Weather Trends. While cold weather helps to get consumers in the mood for the holidays and helps seasonal categories like fire logs, hot cocoa and cold medicine, it also can curtail overall store traffic if too severe. This year, the hardest-hit areas will be in the Midwest and Great Lakes, where the combination of much colder temperatures and early heavy snowstorms likely will hamper consumers' shopping activities. Items like snow shovels, ice melt and windshield washer fluid will experience significantly higher demand here.

Unlike last year, the East Coast will have less snow with no big blizzards. However, the first few weeks of December will trend quite a bit warmer along the East Coast.