Weather Should Help Black Friday Retailers

A CNBC report says that a weather front full of low temperatures, sleet and snow will cause headaches for Thanksgiving travelers but likely happiness for retailers.

“Coupled with pent-up demand and cabin fever, the seasonable weather may give retailers a boost in traffic and sales over Thanksgiving weekend,” said the CNBC report, “when the National Retail Federation expects up to 140 million people to shop.”

Though the weather will impede travel on Wednesday, it is expected to clear out by Thursday evening.

According to Planalytics, a consulting firm, “major markets in the East are expected to be 10 to 25 degrees colder from Thursday through Sunday compared with the same period last year, and major markets in the Midwest, South Central U.S., Southwest and the Rockies region will also be much colder.”

“Temperatures likely won't be low enough to keep people inside, however, or even to prevent them from camping out for doorbuster deals, said Planalytics president Scott Bernhardt.