From the Global Department Of Studies That Tell Us What We Already Knew, a recent study of online retail data shows that while retail spending is down overall, shoppers spent more money online in January 2014 than in January 2013. What could the reason be? Well, speculates the company that did the study, maybe it’s because of the run of really crappy weather in highly populated areas of the country in 2014.

After all, if you can’t go to work and you notice that your favorite boots aren’t so waterproof anymore while shoveling out your parking space, how do do you remedy the situation? You make a cup of tea and surf over to Zappos.

They didn’t spell this out in their blog post about the study, but Ecommercebytes asked Custora what the causes of current shopping trends might be. “One may assume the inclement weather in major parts of the country since the beginning of the year is making more consumers inclined to stay indoors and shop from the comfort of their home,” a spokesperson said.

Good news for online retailers: not as good for the brick-and-mortar kind. Or for the delivery personnel who must forge through treacherous driveways in order to bring us our boots.

US E-Commerce: 2014 Starts with a Bang [Custora]
Bad Weather Linked to Good Sales for Online Merchants [Ecommercebytes]

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