The Met Office says strong winds are likely to hit many parts of the country before May is over, with the risk of them becoming gale-force strength in parts.

Combined with continued heavy rains nationwide, it’s likely that many Britons will be donning a cap to keep the rain off, only to watch it blow away into the distance on a particularly strong gust.

Although they might not seem like an obvious seasonal choice during the warmer months, hats remain a popular choice for keeping Brits’ heads dry all year round.

Whereas winter sees woolly hats sell in greater numbers, cooler, more lightweight alternatives offer head protection in the summer, without the inconvenience of an umbrella or the unwelcome heat of a hooded sweater or waterproof jacket.

But when that convenient cap blows away on a blustery breeze, it needs replacing – and that’s likely to keep wholesale hats in demand well into June, when the forecast predicts more settled conditions will set in.

According to business advice from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, it is this sense of value – rather than of price alone – that is driving many consumers’ shopping habits at the moment.

That means that the traditional brands that have been popular in the market in recent years may not hold the same level of perceived authority any more, opening up the potential to stock a wider range of products at different prices.

Richard Wallace, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks’ head of regional business, says: “Although there may be a perception that people do not have money to spend, there does seem to be a real opportunity for companies looking to reassess how their products are viewed.”

He adds that many consumers are looking for the best possible return for their money, in light of research by Mintel that found 76% of shoppers are focusing more closely on their spending, with clothing still among the top three areas in which they are willing to buy.

With this in mind, clothing retailers must strike a fine balance between this willingness to buy and a desire for value – two intentions that can be equally well served with the right choice of wholesale underwear.

The Birmingham Mail reports that Russells Hall Hospital has historically had problems with patients whose most private of areas were being exposed by loose-fitting nightgowns.

Now, however, it has invested in several new types of wholesale nightwear, giving patients plenty of options depending on how covered up they would like to be.

Among the new kinds of wholesale nightwear on offer are double gowns with fastenings at both the front and the back – removing the risk of them gaping open at any one point.

They tie at 28 different positions on the fabric, allowing the fasteners to be adjusted to suit the patient’s treatment.

Meanwhile, unisex wholesale pyjamas are ensuring that patients of either gender receive the same commitment to privacy.

This means female patients no longer have to wear gowns with dropped necklines; they can now choose instead to wear the same high-necked pyjamas as the men.

It’s evidence of a changing approach to nightwear from the NHS, and our Manchester wholesalers are ready to supply hospitals – both NHS and private – and other such facilities throughout the north-west who want to adopt a similar strategy.

Ross Kenneth Urken, writing for business analysis site MainStreet, explains that when wholesale underwear revenues rise in the US, overall economic prosperity usually follows.

This may be because, when consumer confidence begins to rise, essential items like underwear are among the first discretionary purchases shoppers begin to make.

In particular, it is men’s underwear – where discretionary spend is more likely to drop in troubled times – that is most useful in predicting this trend.

“Though 2012 men’s apparel sales rose a meagre 1% [in the US], underwear sales shot up 13%, according to NPD Group,” Mr Urken writes.

“Even former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has used this economic indicator to take the temperature of the economy.”

And as we all know, retail trends in the US often predict those that will occur in the following months in the UK.

With that in mind, it is worth investing early in wholesale underwear, to have the stock ready to spring when green shoots begin to appear in the British retail sector.

We have been looking closely for the first sure-fire signs of spring this year, and after several false starts, it seems warmer weather and sunshine has finally set in across the country, and particularly in the north-west, where temperatures have been in double figures for some time now.

This is likely to see a substantial increase in high street footfall in April-May, as April 2012 saw subdued performance, but in 2013 it was March that suffered from cold weather and an early Easter.

April 2012 saw a 6.9% annual decrease in high street footfall, according to British Retail Consortium figures, while in March 2013 shopper numbers were down by 5.2% year-on-year.

With Easter out of the way and the weather on an upward turn, it seems likely that April and May will reverse at least some of that trend.

And with many shoppers still to stock up on lightweight underwear for summer, it is the perfect opportunity to visit underwear wholesalers and make sure your stock consists of the right garments for the incoming season.

For several weeks now, we have been noting the effects of the unseasonable weather on consumer buying habits, as warm woollies like wholesale gloves and scarves have been in demand well into the first months of 2013.

Conversely, garments better suited to the ‘warmth’ of spring and summer – such as lightweight wholesale underwear and cool pyjamas – have so far seen subdued sales.

The British Retail Consortium’s director general, Helen Dickinson, notes: “Demand was cool [in March] for new-season clothing and footwear lines.”

Fashion’s performance in March, compared to other retail categories, suffered further from the boost given to sales of categories like food and homewares by the early Easter.

But with Easter out of the way in March, rather than in April the previous year, many households will have more funds available for non-food categories as the month goes on.

This combination of good household cash flow and, hopefully, warmer days towards the end of April could see delayed springtime clothing purchases make their impact known on the high street – and Manchester wholesalers will be working hard to keep the city’s retailers supplied with the garments they need for the new season.

Research from travel comparison site Kayak suggests that the last of those claims might not be as absurd as it first sounds.

A massive one in six women suffer holiday-planning stress specifically because they are worried about packing an insufficient amount of underwear, the site found.

In all, 17% of those surveyed said that the number of knickers they have in their case is a cause for concern, while packing the ‘right sort’ of clothes as a whole is a worry for 44% of all British holidaymakers.

Underwear wholesalers have an important part to play in easing this stress, as supplying holidaymakers with the right options at the right time of year can help them to feel more relaxed about their getaway.

As the weather gets warmer, that means stocking more lightweight wholesale underwear – not only suitable for the 20-30 degrees usually seen in the UK, but in some cases also for the 30-40 degrees that might be seen in many popular holiday destinations.

In a recent survey, the insurer asked over 2,000 people – almost 1,700 of whom regularly take a handbag or ‘manbag’ with them when leaving the house – what precious or unusual items they carry with them.

Some of the answers were a little tongue-in-cheek, as at least one person claimed that the most unusual item in their bag was simply ‘fluff’.

However, one in 25 men and one in 20 women said that they pack clean underwear with them, proving that wholesale underwear is even more than a necessity to some careful Brits.

Martyn Dyson, head of general insurance at Nationwide, says: “The research shows there is a huge variety of objects that people consider to be particularly valuable or precious.”

Other items of clothing also made the shortlist, including shoes for 2% of men (a greater proportion than among female respondents), waterproof jackets and, for 8% of men and 15% of women, a spare bag.

According to Alliance Trust Asset Management, this is helping age groups who spend the most on clothing to see the lowest real-terms rates of inflation at present.

The main group to benefit are 30 to 49-year-olds, who typically spend 5.8% of their income on clothes.

Neighbouring age groups – the under-30s and the 50 to 64-year-olds – also spend relatively large amounts on clothes, at 5.2% each.

Shona Dobbie, chief economist at Alliance Trust, says: “The middle age groups … are all currently benefiting from the fact that clothing and footwear prices are lower than a year ago, together with the fact that petrol prices are little changed from a year ago.”

Manchester wholesalers continue to play an important role in supplying the clothing industry with wholesale underwear and other essential items at competitive prices.

And with real-terms inflation relatively low for the industry’s main demographic groups, the months to come could yield useful avenues for growth for retailers who are able to adopt flexible pricing strategies.

According to UNISON, many of those employed in the public sector – including teaching assistants, school cleaners, nurses and home care assistants – are struggling to pay essential bills such as the cost of heating their homes over the winter months.

With snow still making the occasional return to parts of the UK in recent days, this remains a concern, particularly for those who do not have enough warm clothing to compensate for turning the heating down.

UNISON’s research found that 69% of those who have applied for governmental fuel grants have had to cut down on the amount of clothing they buy, while 56.6% have gone on an enforced diet to reduce their outgoings on food.

Wholesale nightwear is not a ‘silver bullet’ for the economy by any means, but stocking some affordable and warm overnight garments could help you to cater for this clear demand, at a price the customer can afford, but without harming your own revenues at the same time – a win-win situation for all concerned, until the economy begins to recover properly.