Temperatures and sales soar during UK heatwave

In 2021 the summer arrived late in the UK and when temperatures rose, Amazon (along with other retailers) saw rapid sales rises in the sort of products you’d expect to see selling well in hot weather. We wrote about this in a blog last year as the data (via Jungle Scout’s Cobalt tool), showed a large rise in beach towel sales and sunscreen and after sun products. 

There were also strong rises in sales of barbecue and picnic related items and beach toys, exactly the sorts of things many of us think of for summer fun. There are also lots of us who like to enjoy time in the garden during warm weather and again, there were strong rises in sales of garden furniture during summer 2021. 

When the summer arrived later than expected, the public reacted fast and went shopping for things to help them make the most of the good weather. Exactly what you’d expect to happen. 

Summer 2022, has felt different. The UK has seen temperatures break through the 40 degree’s celsius barrier as part of a month that saw two “extreme heat” episodes that made it less comfortable to be out in and to work in. There were health warnings advising people to stay out of the hottest temperatures and millions of UK residents would tell you they found it too hot (and were glad the highest temperatures were only for a couple of days). 

Given the different nature of the hot weather in 2022, we wondered what the data would tell us about Amazon sales performance in the same sorts of products and on some new ones that we hadn’t looked at in 2021.

What was clear again was that the hot weather drove additional spending. That spending was in both traditional summer products but also saw significant volumes in wider product categories relating to hot weather and managing the heat. 

For example, Amazon sold 2 million cooling fans in the 8 weeks between mid-June 2022 and Mid-August. Air-conditioning products were up over 400% and over 700,000 cooling pads were sold as people looked for ways to be more comfortable in the higher temperatures. 

Whilst categories such as sun scream and after sun lotions saw growth in sales of 216% from 2021. Garden furniture performed particularly well during the 8 weeks between mid-June 2022 and Mid-August, seeing a 7% growth in sales with sales of just under £14m. Whether people were making more visits to English seaside resorts or packing for abroad, there was a significant shift in sales across Beach Towels with sales increasing by 136% vs last year. We also saw a 51% growth in sales during this year’s summer period with sales topping just under £4m.

So for a second year in succession, we’ve seen seasonal product demand change rapidly with the weather as consumers move fast to make the most of it. For businesses who rely on this seasonality it suggests that demand may become more concentrated and that customers will likely look across a range of channels to find what they want in a timely manner. If you’d like to discuss how to plan and manage for this, please get in touch.