35 degrees in Lyon, 37 degrees in Toulouse … In a good part of France, the mercury has reached peaks in recent days. And this is only the beginning: according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, the country must prepare for a temperature change of 4 degrees by 2100.
If the multiplication of heat waves upsets our lifestyles, it does not only make people unhappy, far from it. Many economic sectors are taking advantage of this rise in temperatures, in markets as varied as those of thermal renovation, pharmaceuticals or the sale of ice cream.
The onset of hot weather is first noticeable in shopping carts, where sales of so-called “weather-sensitive” consumer products are soaring. According to the latest panel published by Circana, sales of fresh sausages recorded the largest increase in June (26% compared to last year), followed closely by ice cream (13%) and sunscreen products (12%). The star product of the summer, however, remains cold drinks, which, alcoholic or not, take five places out of ten in the ranking of the best-selling items. “It’s a great classic,” says Juliette Favre, insight manager at Circana. What is newer is the development of premium references, such as luxury beers or atypical sodas”. The heat wave, no more than inflation, therefore does not reduce pleasure purchases, quite the contrary.
However, city center consumption does not adapt well to extreme temperatures. Even the glaciers, king traders of the summer period, paradoxically suffer from the heat wave. “Ice cream may be a seasonal product, but when we start to exceed 30 degrees, our turnover declines,” says Paolo Benassi, co-founder of Amorino, a French brand of Italian ice cream present in 16 countries. Fewer strolls, less appetite: to overcome its scorching obstacles, the brand has reviewed its offer, in particular by strengthening its ranges of sorbet drinks and granita.
If the glaciers pull (a little) grimace, other stalls fill up during the heat wave. Surprisingly, pharmacies are one of them. According to Pascal Fontaine, commercial director of Lafayette pharmacies (285 pharmacies in France), “the sales peaks of summer now equal those of winter”. Heat-related ailments – blood circulation problems, dehydration, sunstroke – drive up sales. And this, despite the rise in prices in parapharmacy and first aid departments. “The winning references in these periods of heat wave are, even more than solar products, thermal water misters, whose sales have increased by 40% since last year”. Less directly related to heat, anti-insect bite products are an unexpected hit. “In two years, we have doubled our sales in this segment,” says the manager.
But the undisputed winners of the heat wave are still in the appliance department. Singled out for their energy consumption, air conditioners and fans remain popular with the French, as explained by Boulanger, one of the leading distributors in the sector. “We are currently observing a logical increase in volume sales linked to the high heat. During heat peaks, the sales volume is regularly multiplied by four, explains the brand, which also notes an evolution in purchasing behavior. “The clientele seems, this year, to make the choice to invest in long-lasting equipment, thus choosing value for money by being ready to invest more than in previous years, to cope with heat waves”. A signal, also, of the concern of the French about the coming summers. If periods of high heat push many customers to take the plunge, “installations now take place in summer and winter”, according to the company.
Still widely acclaimed, the air conditioning market must nevertheless come to terms with the thermal renovation market, which continues to gain ground. A dynamism also maintained by the aid provided by the public authorities to transform thermal colanders. According to a study conducted by Groupement Actibaie, 30% of households would consider renovating within five years to improve the comfort of their homes in summer. They are 70% to have suffered from the heat under their roof.
The agendas of professionals therefore fill up quickly. “We are recording increases in orders and activity of around 30% in these periods of heat,” says the company PES, which specializes in energy renovation work. Same observation for Yohan Alexandre Pires de Carvalho, president of the Isova company: “The insulation of the attic, which makes it possible to reduce heat and improve the energy performance diagnosis, is more and more popular. Last summer, very hot, created a before and after. Here again, the French do not skimp on the means. “The heat wave above all makes our prospects aware of the choice of materials and more effective techniques from the point of view of summer thermal comfort, explains DSD Rénov, roofer and facade worker working in Île-de-France and Normandy. Customers are therefore moving towards potentially more expensive works and materials, such as roof renovation with insulation from the outside”.
The sector can count on the support of the State and local authorities, which are trying, by all means, to prepare France for the effects of global warming. “We have to move from a radiator city to an oasis city”, continues to hammer Dan Lert, deputy of Paris in charge of the ecological transition. “When municipalities see the effects of several weeks of heat waves, their perspective changes,” says Fabien Crétin, CEO of Fontaneo. The company sells water fountains and cooling islands, mainly for local authorities. “Our activity is expanding rapidly and has become, in recent years, more and more linear, with heat peaks now stretching from April to October,” he argues.
It is in the events sector that Fontaneo has recorded the most requests this year. “It is no longer conceivable to bring together thousands of people without a single water point, argues the leader. What was once a luxury is now a pure and simple need. It remains to be seen how much communities – and individuals – will be willing to pay to satisfy their “needs” for freshness.
