The North Face - Data Science
The North Face is a premier supplier of both high-end and approachable outdoor gear, footwear, and apparel. Customers can see the brand at retailers from Nordstrom, to REI, to Dick’s Sporting Goods, as well as brand-owned stores, outlets, and the brand’s eCommerce site.
When consumer research studies were conducted, customers would most often say “warm jackets” as their first thought about the brand.
The Himalayan Range
Business Need
In the brand’s top US markets (like NYC, Boston, Chicago, and DC) lighter winter seasons (like 2015-16) would always mean softer sales, in both wholesale and our owned-retail and eCommerce channels.
Challenges
There was a prevailing myth in the company that the driving factor for purchasing behavior was recent precipitation (snow). The direct-to-consumer team was challenged with the phrase “weather cannot be an excuse”.
The North Face Thermoball Hoodie
Approach
We conducted regression analysis using multi-market weather data to find that the trailing two-weeks of temperature change in a region was the best predictor of demand for our products. So, we collabrated with our media team, AccuWeather, and (then) Twitter to modify social campaign buys based on the temperature swing and the human reaction to “it’s getting colder”.
Results
The campaign tests we ran yielded a 24% increase in campaign interactions when we utilized the temperature insights.