Sales Heat Up Along With Weather

As we mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Toronto has been experiencing quite the scorcher recently. With today marking the fifth straight day that the city has been under a heatwave, the effects that it has had on the economy have become more noticeable.

As QMI Agency’s Sharon Singleton reports today, the extreme heat has significantly increased the demand for such items as fans, sunscreen, water, sports drinks, coolers, picnic-ware, sporting goods and of course, summer clothing. The weather, naturally, presents the perfect opportunity for retailers to cash in on their ‘cooling down products’.

Toronto isn’t the only city experiencing such warm weather in Southern Ontario, obviously. Temperatures in the high 30s on the Celcius thermometre were recorded in Ottawa and in some parts of Quebec, reports Singleton. Many states south of the border are feeling the heat as well.

All of these areas are realizing that beating the heat does come with a price. In addition to the variety of items that become more like necessities during the hot days of summer, natural gas prices also become more costly. With households cranking up the air conditioning and fans, electricity bills are sure to spike as well.

Singleton reports, however that Ontario is prepared for the increased demand for hydro. Apparently, the province is yet to hit record numbers thus far. Explains Singleton: “On Wednesday, demand topped 25,000 megawatts, compared with record demand of 27,005 megawatts on August 1, 2006. In more normal summer temperatures, demand runs at about 20,000.”

Added IESO communications advisor, Martina Holmsen: “This week we’ve had adequate supply to meet demand. In the past few years Ontario has been bringing more supply online and we are in a positive supply situation.”

So it doesn’t look as if we’ve hit the hottest temperatures of all time just yet, but the way things are looking, records may be broken in the coming days. We would like to remind everyone to do their best to beat the heat by keeping hydrated and not staying in the sun for too lengthy a time period this week.

In addition, we would also like to congratulate all of the small business owners how are prospering from the summer heat. We are sure there is nothing better for them than to have their sales heat up along with the weather.