—
December 19, 2015, Wheathampstead, United Kingdom.
A drop in temperature has brought a massive 648% increase in sales to one online retailer of duvets in the UK. This was in part explained by a growing trend of shoppers trusting the internet to do their shopping online, but the level of growth was also down to the weather.
According to the UK’s Meteorological Office, the UK experienced one of the warmest years on record with every month except August being warmer than average by 1.4°C across the year. At the end of November, temperatures appeared to fall substantially; in fact they were very close to the average for the time of year.
Britain’s climate could be described as changeable but never volatile so a drop of 18°C in some parts was very unusual. Across the UK, news outlets were reporting cold weather stories and hospitals in England reported an increase in admissions to accident and emergency.
The drop in temperature is believed to have prompted consumers to buy new duvets, leading Adam Collis, UK based owner of All Tog Duvets to comment:
“The market normally sees an increase in orders around December every year but this year the orders have increased substantially (648%). This must be due to the drop in temperatures we experienced in early December. In previous years the weather changed gradually but this year it was much more sudden.”
A further factor is the increased trust that consumers place in the internet allowing them to browse from the comfort of their home, without being pesteredby a salesman, in their own time and at a time that suits them. When buying large bulky items such as duvets there’s also the benefit that customers don’t have to cart the item around and it can be delivered to your front door.
The very large increase due to temperature change has been noted before for sales of items when temperatures have increased, for instance the sale of cooling devices during heat waves but not to this extent (648%) during cold weather.
Release ID: 70360