How the Weather Affects Consumer Behavior and Purchasing Decisions

Being a successful entrepreneur or marketer means being able to assess a wide range of data and use it to your advantage. A large part of that is understanding how society works and how people make decisions in our increasingly technological world, which is why well-planned SEO campaigns and social media marketing can be so effective. There are some factors, however, that aren’t man-made or technology driven at all, such as the weather. It can be just as important, so here are two ways that weather affects purchasing decisions, and what smart businesses should be doing about it.

Warm Weather Encourages Impulse Purchases

We all know how happy a little warmth and sunshine makes us feel. That’s partly because natural sunlight encourages the body to release serotonin, which is known as the ‘happy hormone’. This increased happiness can have a subconscious and positive impact on all aspects of our life, and that includes our shopping habits. Studies have shown that we are much more likely to make impulse or luxury purchases when the weather is warm and the skies are blue, and there’s even an ideal temperature for increased purchasing: 78 degrees. It’s important that businesses of all kinds, both online and offline, make the most of this by creating a bright, warm, and inviting atmosphere in their stores and on their websites.

Predictive Shopping

Concern about impending weather conditions is in our DNA, after all, in humankind’s earliest days being prepared for wet or cold weather could be a life or death matter. It’s a little different now, of course, but we still like to know what the next few days or weeks are predicted to bring. These predictive weather forecasts can lead to predictive shopping, so that, for instance, if a sudden cold snap is expected to occur there will be a large increase in sales of warm clothing and comfort foods. This can even apply to large purchases that will be in use all year round, as consumers are much more likely to buy 4×4 vehicles rather than convertibles, as they are designed to be able to handle the worst conditions as winter approaches.

How To Make The Most Of Weather Driven Consumer Behavior

As with everything in the world of business, the most important commodity you can have is knowledge. We know that consumers change their shopping habits according to whether it’s warm, cold, or wet, so acting rapidly upon that can give us a competitive edge over rival businesses. That’s why the weather app by Aeris Weather can make a noticeable difference to your bottom line. It gives detailed weather information and reports and can easily be integrated into your other apps, so it’s perfect for developers as well as business leaders.

We can’t change the weather, but thanks to the latest weather apps we can know more about it than ever before. That means that we can make accurate predictions that can help us keep one step ahead of our customers. When we understand how the weather affects consumer behavior, it’s one more aid to effective marketing, so we need never be left behind by changes in the seasons or in purchasing patterns.