Planalytics North American WeatherCall Report: Slightly Warmer March Helped Boost...

Planalytics North American WeatherCall Report: Slightly Warmer March Helped
Boost Sales for Spring Products

WAYNE, Pa., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Planalytics Inc., the global leader in
Business Weather Intelligence(R), released its monthly WeatherCall report
reviewing weather's impact on consumers and business for March 2009. Overall,
March 2009 was slightly warmer than March 2008 (+1.2 degrees F), which helped
sales for spring apparel, restaurants and lawn & garden items. Significant
severe weather events did however periodically dampen demand, keeping
year-on-year gains from being larger. Major winter storms hit the East in
the beginning of the month, flooding hampered North Dakota and surrounding
areas by mid-month and snow storms hit Oklahoma and Wisconsin towards the
latter part of the month.

"While much of the U.S. and Canada experienced warm readings for March, the
stormy and volatile weather kept consumers off-balance and wondering when
Spring will arrive. Seasonal demand was generally favorable to last year, as
consumers continue to exhibit need-based purchasing patterns," said Scott
Bernhardt, Chief Operating Officer of Planalytics.

In Planalytics' tracking of publicly traded companies, 94% of the businesses
showed positive weather favorability compared to March 2008. The largest
year-on-year gains were seen at Cracker Barrel (CBRL), Dress Barn (DBRN),
Family Dollar (FDO), and Hot Topic (HOTT).

Planalytics reported positive year-on-year weather-driven demand indices for
the following product categories: Lawn Mowers (+8%), Plants (+7%), Sandals
(+4%), Capris (+4%) and Sprinklers (+2%).

For more information, contact Planalytics Inc. at 1-800-882-5881.

About Planalytics
Planalytics Inc. (www.planalytics.com) is the singular global source of
Business Weather Intelligence(R) - the actionable information retail,
manufacturing, life sciences and energy companies need to understand and
optimize the impact of weather on their business. Weather is the most
volatile of all external factors affecting business performance and
Planalytics helps companies proactively manage this risk. Powered by an
unparalleled database of weather's financial and volumetric impacts,
proprietary modeling technologies and market-specific expertise, Planalytics'
Business Weather Intelligence is essential to any company, in any industry,
looking to effectively shape strategies, pinpoint opportunities and make more
profitable decisions.

SOURCE Planalytics Inc.

David Frieberg of Planalytics Inc., +1-610-407-2905,
dfrieberg@planalytics.com