The Unusually Warm Weather Is Making a Serious Mess for Clothing Retailers

In most years, it isn’t too presumptuous for retailers to stock up on cold-weather clothing to sell as temperatures drop through the fall in the Northern hemisphere. But this year’s unseasonably warm weather is wreaking havoc on that game plan, on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the U.S., two different weather-focused consultancies, Planalytics and Weather Trends International, have looked at the effect warm weather has had on retail sales. The results aren’t good, though the upshot is that consumers can probably expect significant discounts on items such as outerwear and sweaters as stores try to clear out their slow-moving inventory.