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When a major winter storm hits, most people think about shoveling driveways and stocking up on essentials. For convenience retailers across the East Coast, the January winter storms resulted in a surge of online orders.
At Lula, we analyzed digital ordering data across hundreds of convenience stores in 15 East Coast states over the past several weeks. Convenience store customers don't stop ordering when the weather gets bad. They just change how they order and what they buy.
The retailers who captured that demand had one thing in common: optimized digital storefronts that stayed online through the storm.
More than half of the stores in our network saw order increases during the storm period, with the average increase among those stores approaching 23%. When the majority of your network is growing during severe weather, it's worth understanding why.
The stores that captured those gains were the ones with optimized digital storefronts, accurate menus, and reliable uptime. They were always on, and when demand spiked, they were ready.
Not all states were affected equally. The state-level data shows just how localized weather impacts can be on digital ordering behavior, and how much store readiness determines whether a retailer benefits or misses out.
Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey led the way with the strongest order growth during the storm period. South Carolina and North Carolina, which saw unusual winter weather for the region, also posted meaningful gains.
Retailers with digital ordering in place and storefronts that stayed operational captured demand that would have otherwise been lost entirely. Customers searched for what they needed, found stores that were online and ready, and placed orders.
Perhaps the most striking finding was the product mix. Winter-specific products, led by ice melt and rock salt, emerged as the top revenue category during the storm period, accounting for nearly half of all revenue among the leading product categories.
Products like 25-pound bags of rock salt and hand warmers were among the most-ordered items across the network. This category alone outpaced beverages in total revenue, which is notable given that drinks are typically the anchor category for convenience store orders.
Convenience stores are becoming the go-to channel for emergency and weather-related products. Customers facing icy driveways and freezing temperatures turned to digital ordering to get what they needed without leaving the house. The stores that had these products featured prominently on their digital menus captured the demand. The stores that didn't left money on the table.
Even with winter products leading the revenue charts, traditional convenience categories continued to perform well. Beverages represented roughly a quarter of top-category revenue, with Coca-Cola products, Dr Pepper, and energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster showing consistent demand despite freezing temperatures.
Alcoholic beverages also performed well, with a notable trend: ready-to-drink cocktails from brands like BuzzBallz and Beat Box outperformed many traditional beer options. The RTD cocktail trend, already gaining momentum nationally, appears to be accelerating in the convenience channel, especially during periods when customers are ordering from home.
Snacks leaned heavily toward bold, spicy flavors. Takis Fuego and Flamin' Hot varieties led the category, suggesting that when customers order for delivery during a storm, they're reaching for comfort and indulgence.
Customers are also building multi-category baskets. They're not placing single-item orders for just ice melt or just a bag of chips. They're filling carts that look a lot like a full convenience store trip, which means higher average order values for retailers with well-merchandised digital storefronts.
The winter storm data reinforces that digital ordering demand doesn't disappear during severe weather. It shifts to whatever channel is available. The retailers who capture that demand are the ones whose storefronts are optimized and always on.
Stores that maintained uptime and delivery operations through the storm captured orders. Automated uptime monitoring, like the tools built into Lula's AI-powered Operators, can make the difference between a strong week and a missed one.
The surge in winter product sales shows that customers will buy whatever they need from the most convenient channel available. Retailers who can quickly feature seasonal and weather-relevant products on their digital menus will capture more basket value, especially during weather events when customers are already ordering essentials and are primed to add more to their cart.
Winter storms aren't the only events that drive demand surges. Heat waves, holiday weekends, local events, and other occasions create moments where digital order volume spikes. The retailers who win during those moments are the ones who treat their digital storefronts as always-on revenue channels.
At Lula, we help convenience retailers across thousands of locations stay online, capture demand, and grow revenue through every season and every storm. If your stores aren't set up to turn these moments into revenue, it might be time to change that.
Ready to see how Lula can help your stores stay always on and capture more digital orders? Book a demo today.
