Last week, the Eugene area received its second rare dose of snow in as many weeks, and several businesses around the campus area felt the chill in their sales.
The retail section of the University Bookstore saw a drop in sales from its average both last Tuesday and Thursday, Jan. 11, said sales representative Jessica Stedman, a 2005 University graduate.
The main floor area averages about $5,000 per day in clothing and merchandise sales, though it only brought in about $3,800 on both snow days, more than a 20 percent decrease. Stedman said there are numerous factors that affect sales from day to day, and the snow was likely only one of those.
But when one area drops in popularity because of inclement weather, another can flourish. Stedman said winter wear, such as heavy sweatshirts and jackets, sell much better this time of year, while summer-related attire lags.
In the extreme case of Shari Chrissis, who works outdoors at the One Bad Dawg hot dog stand near the University Bookstore, business was noticeably slower than usual, despite the number of excited students out enjoying the winter blast.
“It wasn’t as busy as it is usually, but I was surprised at the number of people that did come out,” Chrissis said.
Chrissis is one of many local businesses whose success fluctuates largely on how bad (or good) the weather is in Eugene.
Chrissis, who recently took over for former “hot dog guy” Tim Nally after his 12 years of service to the University community, said she is still trying to get a feel for how many supplies she should bring each morning based on the forecast. She said she planned for a normal day, but didn’t end up going through everything.
This week, by contrast, has been virtually the opposite of early last week and the week before, and Chrissis said business has picked up considerably. Though she can’t yet sell as many as 200 hot dogs like Nally used to, she said, the good weather helps her get closer.
“That’s the difference between 12 years and two weeks,” she said.
Snow in Eugene might be an extreme case, but it is not the only type of weather that affects business decisions around campus.
The recently founded Origin 79 apparel store on East 13th Avenue, which was closed last Tuesday while it snowed, is trying to take advantage of the winter rain with a display of rain boots placed directly in front of the window. The store sells about three to four pairs of boots every week when it rains, said Origin 79 employee Rachelle Copeland. For Origin 79, bad weather can actually help business.
“When it’s nice like this, people want to stay outside,” she said. “When it rains, people maybe just want to step inside, looking for shelter.”
For Chrissis, rain is the worst possible condition. While snow at least brings people out with interest, rain drives them away or indoors.
“It has a big impact on business,” Chrissis said. “Obviously, people don’t want to stand in the rain.”
For others, it doesn’t make any difference what the weather decides to do on any given day. Danyel Warmington, a server and chef at the Flying Dogs Cafe & Deli, said the restaurant was temporarily slowed by the snow last week, but generally is not affected at all by the weather because of the close proximity of many of its student customers.
“The rain doesn’t matter because they’re just going across the street anyway,” Warmington said.
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