People often fear the worst when it comes to snow storms, especially in areas like the southeast and West Coast, which are unaccustomed and sometimes unprepared to deal with harsh winter weather.
Prompted by local media and weather reports to take action, consumers tend to flock to the grocery at the first sign of a winter weather scare to stockpile for what’s sure to be “snowmageddon.”
Unusual weather events, like the snow storm that hit Portland, OR last week and the snow and ice storms that plagued parts of the southeast earlier this month, are nothing to scoff at. Driving conditions can be dangerous with roads impassable at times.
Hunkering down becomes the name of the game. Ahead of the storm, it means shoppers swarming to the neighborhood market, buying up milk, bread, eggs and other household basics.
“We’ve learned over the years that customers definitely stock up when given the opportunity and notice of bad weather approaching,” Jill McGinnis, spokesperson for Safeway Portland Division wrote in an email to Food Dive.
So just how do grocery retailers prepare for bad weather that can bring hordes of shoppers into their stores?
A week’s worth of preparation
Kim Reynolds, spokesperson for Publix Supermarkets in the Carolinas and Georgia, told Food Dive that strong lines of communication both internally and externally are crucial during unusual weather events, whether they are winter storms or hurricanes.
“We usually have about a week’s notification of bad weather heading our way. We closely follow the local news and have internal resources in place to track weather reports,” said Reynolds.
“Within the week leading up to the storm, our associates meet every couple of days for updates. The day or two before, it becomes more like every couple of hours.”
Store manager Rick Miller of the Food City in Bristol, TN told Food Dive that he regularly watches weather reports about 15 days out, relying on The Weather Channel all year long to support his buying process.
“It helps me determine what to buy, whether it’s more milk, bread and canned goods for snowy winter weather or extra hamburger buns and grilling out-type foods for a nice summer weekend,” Miller said.
Eleanor Wilkinson, director of marketing at Zupan’s Markets in Portland, said that weather reports are logged along with sales data, providing an added reference for consumer behavior.
“This last week’s storm was only predicted to drop 1-4 inches of snow. It ended up dropping 8-15 inches. That’s a significant difference,” Wilkinson wrote in an email.
She continued, “We manage inventory as best as possible. However if a truck can’t get to us to deliver a load, that can be felt over the next week and a half.”
Building back stock of high-demand items
The weather gods dumped a half a foot of snow on Rocky Mount, NC the first weekend of the year. While this amount of snow accumulation is not unheard of in the Carolinas, it’s still uncommon.
Co-manager Tony Kyles of Rocky Mount’s W. Thomas Piggly Wiggly store kept a watchful eye on local weather reports for the better part of a week.
“There was a strong possibility of bad weather hitting by week’s end,” Kyles told Food Dive. “By Thursday, we were definitely ordering additional stock.”
Across town, manager Carlson Brown of the Raleigh Boulevard Piggly Wiggly store explained the balancing act of ordering extra inventory.
“Early in the week meteorologists were saying we may or may not get snow. So we weren’t quite sure what to expect,” Brown told Food Dive. “We didn’t want to over-order and get stuck with it. We ordered some, but not too much.”
“News media drives a lot of traffic to the stores. Prime time is right after work. We had all registers open.”
Kim Reynolds
Spokesperson, Publix Supermarkets - Carolinas and Georgia
Both Rocky Mount Piggly Wiggly stores bumped their bread deliveries from Saturday up to Friday. Still, most of the local stores were wiped clear of bread by midday Friday.
“Our distributor brought Saturday’s bread delivery early on Friday and we still ran out,” Brown said. “I don’t think you could find any bread in town over the weekend. We were out of stock on Saturday and Sunday before getting restocked on Monday.”
Food City’s Miller told Food Dive that he starts ordering storm-related items — such as ice melt and fire logs — and non-perishables — like canned goods that can be stored in the back room — about a week in advance.
“Our company operates on a quick turnaround,” said Miller. “We have a two-day window on trucks for milk and bread and other perishables like frozen.”
To prepare for bad storms, Miller said parent company K-VA-T has an emergency plan in place where it ships extra pallets of milk and private label bread to affected stores.
“We really try to look after our customers so they can find the products they need,” Miller said.
Publix also works in advance to prepare — and takes advantage of its storeroom, Reynolds said.
“Publix prepares by having a lot of back stock, storing extra product in the back room, especially water,” she told Food Dive. “And we work closely with vendors, for example DSD (direct store delivery) vendors of snacks and shelf-ready bread.”
“We get additional product at the onset of pending winter storms. Several days out, we ship in extra truckloads,” she said.
The real challenge begins when the snow hits, stock runs low and shelves need replenished.
“It’s just a matter of waiting for the trucks to arrive,” said Reynolds. The Charlotte-area Publix stores, which bore the brunt of the winter storm earlier this month, are supplied by the firm’s Atlanta distribution center.
Bad weather means good business
Despite a few long and trying days, advance preparation pays off for grocery retailers. Bad winter storms translate to additional foot traffic and register rings.
Wilkinson wrote that unusual weather events can bring 50 to 100% increases in sales. She shared an old industry saying: “The best thing for grocery is a snow scare. The worst thing for grocery is a snow storm.”
Kyles estimates his Piggly Wiggly store had about a 60% bump up in sales on Thursday and Friday leading up to Saturday’s snowfall. The downside is that the weekend was unusually slow.
Brown said his sales for the two days leading up the storm were about double what he normally does.
“We did $40,000 on Thursday and Friday. We normally do about $20,000. Saturday, the snowy day, was much slower at about $15,000.”
Reynolds said Publix stores saw an increase in foot traffic and sales starting about two days before the storm was due to hit.
“News media drives a lot of traffic to the stores,” she said. “Prime time is right after work. We had all registers open.”
Loading up on milk, bread and ice cream?
So what sells best during winter storms? Turns out it’s the usual suspects: bread, milk, water and canned goods.
At Zupan’s Markets, Wilkinson indicated a high demand for anything that makes soup and pasta, items like canned tomatoes, pasta and legumes.
Piggly Wiggly store managers concurred, saying canned vegetables, beans and meat items are hot commodities.
“It’s a good time to make some soup,” Kyles said.
Kyles told Food Dive that snow melt products also flew out the door.
Miller said he’s struck by what some people actually buy, including the frozen pizzas, frozen dinners and ice cream he finds in many grocery carts.
“How are you going to cook it if the power goes out?” he said.
Deli is another area that sells well at Publix, according to Reynolds.
“It seems shoppers want convenient prepared foods from our delis to have on hand while they ride out the weather.”
Order online, leave the driving to them
Online ordering and home delivery seems to be made for snow days. But that’s not necessarily the case.
Evidence points to physical stores winning over e-commerce during unusual weather events because of the immediate consumption nature of purchases. Shoppers want their sustenance — milk, bread and other staples — in hand before the storm hits.
While stores were bustling, Reynolds pointed out that Publix saw an increase in online shopping services — including the Online Easy Ordering service for the store’s deli department — as well.
The tool, which is accessible by computer or mobile app, lets shoppers place advance orders of deli products — including meats, cheeses and custom-ordered sandwiches. Shoppers also specify a pick-up time.
Publix also collaborates with grocery home delivery service Instacart in select stores.
“The Instacart service was popular. We did notice an uptick in the use of online ordering in our Instacart stores,” said Reynolds.
However, online ordering and delivery is not ideal when the snowflakes begin to fall.
“The demand for home delivery service increases when getting out to a store becomes challenging,” McGinnis wrote. “But delivery trucks, unfortunately, have trouble in the snow as well.”
