Warmer-than-expected fall weather is hurting retailers that sell coats and boots

Shoppers were waiting for the mercury to drop before spending big.

With the holidays just around the corner, it looks like the milder fall weather took a toll on retailers.

Apparel retailers mentioned the unseasonably warm temperatures during their recent earnings calls, saying the late start to colder weather has impacted their third-quarter results.

On Tuesday, Kohl’s, Burlington, and Nordstrom each said there had been a pronounced drop in sales of boots and coats, while Dick’s Sporting Goods said the lost transactions were offset by stronger performance of warmer categories, like golf.

Indeed, preliminary data from NOAA indicates this year’s autumn could be the warmest on record, according to a CNN analysis.

That has been tough for companies that sell lots of boots and coats.

“At Burlington, we are particularly sensitive to warmer weather,” CEO Michael O’Sullivan said. “In October, our cold weather businesses represent almost a quarter of our sales.”

O’Sullivan also said the shift knocked three percentage points from the company’s comparable sales for the period, adding that the warmer temperatures discourage some shoppers from coming into the store in the first place.

Nordstrom’s chief brand officer, Peter Nordstrom, said the department store chain had several weeks of “suppressed selling of boots, outerwear, and sweaters, and we’re trying to claw that back as best we can the remainder of the season.”

Kohl’s outgoing CEO, Tom Kingsbury, expressed optimism about the upcoming weeks but was blunt about the recent results: “Yeah, it hurt us in the third quarter. When you have such a high penetration of apparel and footwear as we do, it hurts us.”

Their comments follow remarks from Target and TJX last week, which also indicated that shoppers were waiting for the mercury to drop before spending big.

Target’s chief commercial officer, Rick Gomez, said sales of seasonal apparel jumped by six percentage points in select markets “when we saw the weather break” and TJX CEO Ernie Herrman said he’s “extremely happy” with the start of the cold fourth quarter.

The trend follows last year’s weirdly warm winter, which was the warmest “meteorological winter” on record, according to NOAA. The period includes December, January, and February.

Higher average temperatures generally lead to more unpredictable weather, which poses its own challenges for retailers.

One retailer in South Dakota told the Federal Reserve that even though the warmer weather led to higher foot traffic, sales of winter gear and equipment fell.

If the recent earnings commentary is any indication, this coming winter could be another preview of how rising global temperatures can affect everyday life.