Find Out More About Q4 2022 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend The Report
The fourth quarter of the year is considered to be the most significant period for software companies across the world.
We verified this by looking over the sales figures of more than 300 SaaS as well as software-based companies who use our platform for billing. We observed that the fourth quarter of 2014 is most definitely the highest-performing quarter of the year in both commercial and consumer sales.
Here's our challenge to you: Are you really benefitting from this quarter? Software companies in November see 11% to 24% over the annual average revenue.At the close this year buyers are willing to invest money for subscriptions and softwareAre you using the marketing budget wisely?
In this article, you'll find:
- The trends in US software sales, by the month and by the quarter
- How software sales vary all over the world during the year
- A comparative of B2C and B2B sales between quarters
- Strategies for taking advantage of holidays and other seasonal occasions around the globe
About Us Data
Its billing platform is used by more than 3500 SaaS and software firms that have clients in more than 200 different countries and territories. This guide will be focusing on where the sales happen and not the location of the company.
We'll also be looking at the average monthly revenue from all sales in the country of a given country, with a seasonal index which measures the month's earnings against the median revenue of a given year.
It's suggested by our data that it's worthwhile conducting Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holiday promotions in November and December.
However, the "holidays" could be much more then Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you think globally, there are dozens of holidays you can leverage to run promotions and drive revenues.
It's just a matter of knowing where to go.
US End-of-Year Trends SaaS And Software Purchases
The U.S., many industries see a significant lift in sales toward the close each year. In particular toys, hobbies, and gaming stores make 35 percent of their annual revenues during the holiday season. But is this true for SaaS as well as software?
Using five years of data, we looked at the median monthly income of software sold on the platform located in the U.S. Then we looked at the comparison of each month's results to the year-long average.
The sales are at their peak in November but keep growing until the end of the year.
Average US SaaS and Software Sales
Looking at the quarter as a whole and comparing it to the previous three quarters, we can see that the fourth quarter is much more successful than the three previous quarters.
US SaaS and Software sales by quarter
The data is exclusive to the U.S. But what about the global market?
Global End-of-Year Trends for SaaS And Software Purchases
To better understand the behavior of consumers worldwide, we studied SaaS and software purchase across eight markets that are major, which include the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China.
When we assessed the month of October to December's sales compared with the average monthly revenue for the year, we did see increased revenue in November, October and December. sales peaking most during November, and the highest point is much higher in the world.
Average Worldwide SaaS, Software and Sales
Keep in mind that the numbers reflect where the client is in, and not where the company's headquarters, suggesting that those Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals really do drive a global increase in revenue for SaaS and software companies.
Average Monthly Revenue per Country (2016-2020)
When we break down the data further it is clear that, while Q4 is still the most robust quarter everywhere, the lift varies significantly from country to country. As an example, among the countries we compared, China and Germany had the biggest average spikes during November.
B2B Versus B2C End Of Year Performance
There's a lot of anecdotal evidence of B2B sales slowing in the fourth quarter. It's possible that this is the case when it comes to sales processes that feature more lengthy buying cycles or the account-based model. However, when we look at B2B SaaS and software sales in general and the last quarter is actually the best quarter of the year with an average 114% higher than the quarter-to-quarter average.
For a comparison of the results of B2B in comparison to B2C businesses We randomly picked 30 users that only provide B2B or B2C markets around the globe. Then, we looked at their revenue from 2019, 2020, and 2021 in order to determine trends.
As you can see, the fourth quarter was an absolute winner for B2B andB2C companies.
B2B Versus B2C Quarterly Sales
What do these insights reveal about how SaaS as well as software companies can prepare for the holiday season? In the next few sections, we'll outline the top practices for end-of-year campaigns. In addition, we'll provide additional data that can help you identify other occasions to increase revenue -- all through the year.
5 Christmas Strategies For SaaS And Software Companies
1. Think about different marketing strategies for each Country Or Region
If you are running promotions in different countries or regions think about localizing your promotions.
Many countries' rise in sales in November is observed in the course of Cyber Week, which is recognized by numerous countries around the world. This includes Germany with the second largest increase in November of all the countries we studied.
The biggest boost resulted in China -- a country that Cyber Week is not as important as Singles' Day, which occurs on November 11. Per our data, we found a large rise in sales in China on the Singles' Day.
2. Incorporate Regional or Other Competition-based Holidays to your Campaign Calendar
The data we analyzed reveals potential opportunities for other times of the year, as well. For example, while revenue dipped in June in the majority of countries that we examined however, it grew in China, perhaps because of China's annual 618 shopping day, the second-largest ecommerce day for the nation. Single's Day is the largest.
Many companies conduct promotions around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But don't forget that there are dozens of other holiday seasons throughout the year you can leverage to increase revenue.
If your product is gaining great acceptance in a particular region It could be beneficial to develop a regional calendar of holiday events for the area and then create a regional offer accordingly.
It's impossible to predict the future of your specific business, but you know the markets you are competing in. Take a look at your data and see what patterns and trends you discover.
Generally, data from regions will provide you with a more accurate sense of your ROI (ROI) in any advertising program you are running.
The Holiday Season Or Significant Shopping Days Of Note
Here are a few to think about. There will be many more in specific areas, and we encourage you to look into activities in your regions that you market to.
- Chinese New Year/Spring festival -- Always falls between January 21 until February 21
- It is popular in China as well as other countries that have significant Chinese or Sinophone numbers
- International Women's Day -- March 8
- National holidays in 27 nations across West, Central, and East Africa, Eastern Europe, Germany, China and North Korea
- Singles' Day -- November 11 An Anti-Valentine Day holiday
- Celebrated in Southeast Asia and Western Europe
- Diwali -- The 15th day of Kartik, the Hindu month Kartik (Usually in late October or early November)
- Celebrated throughout South Asia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean
- Click Frenzy -- the second Tuesday of November
- Australia
- Black Friday -- Last Friday in November
- North America, much of Western Europe, China, much of Africa, Brazil, and Mexico are all participants.
- Cyber Monday
- Most countries that participate in Black Friday are also interested in Cyber Monday
- Christmas, December 25,
- North America, most of Easter and Western Europe, Australia, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Pakistan, India, Japan, Hong Kong, the majority of Southeast Asia, South Africa
- Boxing Day -- December 26
- It is celebrated throughout Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand
- International Workers Day or Labor Day -- May 1 is a major holiday in Europe, Russia, Africa, Central and South America The first Monday of September across the U.S. and Canada; and the very first Monday in October in Australia
- Much-loved throughout the world
3. Promotional Strategies Can Be rolled into Q1
Although software sales are slowing in the beginning of 2018 but the decline might not be as severe as you expected. The sales in January were solid (above 90%) across areas like the US, Great Britain, Germany, and Canada. A larger drop was seen in February.
Many sales and marketing teams have a break in the first quarter to regroup or recharge. But there's also an opportunity to stand out during a slower season.
When you run campaigns during the fourth quarter, it's not only competition against your direct competitors. At the end of the year, people's inboxes and social media feeds overflow with promotions for the holidays. In the most popular season it's an opportunity to be noticed.
The months of January and February could be an ideal time to test something completely new or even big.
4. You can track your sales using the Seasonality Index
Track the success of your campaign year after year so that you can ensure the increase in spending does not exceed an increase in revenue.
Monthly-over month (MoM) or year-over year (YoY) Growth can reveal much, but those aren't the only ways to evaluate performance.
An index of seasonality like the one we utilized in our guide, shows how a given month is compared to the typical month in a year.
It is recommended to track each year's campaigns YoY and comparison of the results with the other campaigns you are running throughout the year.
Keep in mind that an increase in monthly revenue may not give you the full picture of the performance of your campaign. For instance, depending on your time zone and the date orders are made Cyber Monday sales could continue into the month of December. If you just look at November sales numbers it is possible that you don't see the entire of the picture.
While you're planning your campaigns In the process of planning your promotions, we've included a few additional KPIs that we would recommend keeping track of.
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5. Accent on Customer Recognition
If you're not going to double your profits at the close of the year, the holidays are the perfect opportunity to improve customer relationships, especially when you're using the SaaS product.
Make the most of the holiday season for a chance to thank your existing or VIP customers through extra generous promotions, gifts, giveaways and personalized deals. Here are some suggestions that other SaaS as well as software businesses have successfully used:
- Create the "Holiday Bundle" promo using the most popular add-ons or even a complementary training.
- Give a huge discount on a subscription plan or software upgrade.
- Run a gift promotion encouraging customers to buy subscriptions or software to give to their family and friends.
- Run a "Treat Yourself" promotion encouraging clients to purchase something to treat themselves at the time of the holiday.
- Offer a year-long subscription or upgrade in a loyalty or referral program.
- Create something unique to newsletter email subscribers.
4. Reward your affiliates
Many affiliates, whether they're corporations or individuals, might be planning on pushing through the holiday season, which makes it the perfect moment to reward them by offering more commissions or a particularly good deal to recommend.
How Do I Help?
There are several methods that's fully-stack platform for commerce can help you during the holiday season and beyond.
1. Support Managers of Inquiries
If you are expecting a substantial growth in your orders over the holidays Is your support team ready? Support for purchase-related inquiries can be handled on your behalf, saving your time and money which can be used for increasing sales over the holiday season.
2. Localized Languages, Currencies, And Payment Methods
To be competitive and gain traction in the global marketplace Your business needs to provide an experience for shopping that is localized and accommodates a broad range of languages, regulations as well as local customs.
The most popular payment options differ depending on the location. If you can discern a trend in prominent regions on your site analytics, you can reduce the number of payment methods you should automatically offer to international customers. These include digital wallets such as PayPal and credit cards and wire transfers. If you offer the most popular payment method, you will be able to reduce cart abandonment and payment declines.
provides a checkout service that is localized that automatically converts your product's prices to the customer's local currency and preferred language . It also provides a variety of payment choices.
3. Global Tax Management and Regulation Compliance
International shoppers do not want to be impacted by unanticipated tax or regulatory obligations that could be incredibly unsettling to shoppers.
Automatically calculates tax, VAT and GST automatically at payment process and makes sure that laws like GDPR as well as PSD2 are applied automatically to affected transactions.