Hurricane Sandy set to have large impact on retailers
After the winds have died down and the rain has stopped, the impact from Hurricane Sandy is still expected to be felt throughout the East Coast, both through damage to homes and businesses as well as losses in revenue for retailers.
According to Business Insider, consumers all along the East Coast rushed to retail grocery stores to stock up on necessary supplies. While this may have resulted in a rise in revenue for these companies, the source states that customer spending from the storm could potentially impact retailers next month, as purchases due to the hurricane are not planned and therefore consumers will be forced to cut back on expenses next month. Additionally, many businesses were forced to close their doors for several days, which led to losses in sales, notes the source.
Halloween stores also felt the impact from Hurricane Sandy. The storm hit the East Coast region on Monday and Tuesday, meaning that retailers selling Halloween supplies did not see the rush of customers they normally do. The Washington Business Journal reports that several Halloween businesses in the Washington D.C. area were forced to close during the hurricane, which resulted in revenue losses.
