Hasselt (Brussels Morning) – Wet weather in April led to a 11.4% drop in fashion sales compared to last year with 97.3% of stores blaming the poor weather. Stores are adjusting their buying strategies to offer more versatile clothing that can be worn in different seasons.
The fashion stores started well in February and March with lots of customers buying new clothes for events like weddings and parties. People were excited about the new spring and summer collections. But in April the rainy weather made it hard. The cold and rain made people less interested in buying summer clothes so sales went down compared to last year. Most stores about 78.3%, sold less than last spring. Only 8.4% sold a bit more. On average there were 11.4% fewer sales. Almost all 97.3% blame the bad weather for the drop in sales.
How Fashion Retailers are Adapting to Unpredictable Weather Patterns?
Sterckx from Mode Unie says that many boutiques changed how they buy clothes to match what customers like and the different seasons. Before stores would have extra clothes left after each season which led to sales and discounts for shoppers. But now boutiques are buying in a smarter way that adjusts to what customers want and the changing seasons. Stores are now focusing on clothes that can be worn in different seasons instead of just summer or winter outfits. These versatile clothes can be worn in-between seasons giving customers more options that work in various weather conditions. This way stores can handle their stock better and customers have more choices throughout the year. So even though stores don’t have as much extra stock after each season because of these new buying strategies customers can still enjoy a bigger variety of clothes that can be worn in different seasons. This means you might find good deals during sales that match these new ways of buying clothes.
Isolde Delanghe from Fashion Union mentioned that the cold and rainy weather made people less interested in buying new summer clothes. When the weather is like this customers don’t feel the need to buy seasonal items like summer clothes because they can’t use them right away. This happens a lot in retail where the weather affects how much people spend especially in seasonal fashion industries.
More shops are doing tie-in sales but they’re starting later than before. They’re keeping an eye on their profits to handle the higher labor costs. Around 65% of small fashion stores are joining tie-in sales now which is more than last year. Stores are giving bigger discounts to make up for lost profits during the pandemic. They’re starting sales with a 30% discount on July 1 like last year. Most small shops think sales will be okay this year, but some are worried about lower sales due to uncertain summer weather. Stores have a lot of stock, and shop owners find it hard to predict the changing weather, so they’re counting on the upcoming sales to help out.
