Find Out More About Q4: 2022 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend report -
The fourth quarter is by far the most important period for software companies across the world.
This was confirmed by analyzing sales data from over 300 SaaS as well as software-based companies that use our billing platform. We found that Q4 was most definitely the highest-performing quarter of the year in both business and consumer sales.
We'd like to ask your company: Are you benefitting from this quarter? The software industry in November see 11% to 24% more than the average monthly revenue.At the end in the calendar year customers are eager to pay on software and subscriptions -Are you using your marketing budget effectively?
In this report, you'll find:
- Changes to US software sales, by the month and by the quarter
- How software sales vary across the globe throughout the year
- A comparative of B2C and B2B sales from quarter to quarter
- Tips for making the most of the holidays and other seasonally-based opportunities all over the world
About Us Data
Its billing platform is used by more than 3500 SaaS as well as software businesses that are customers in more than 200 different countries and territories. In this article, we'll focus on where sales take place in contrast to where the business is.
Also, we'll be looking at the monthly average revenue from all sales in the country of a given country, using a seasonal index, that compares the month's revenue to the median revenue of the year in question.
Our data suggests it's worth running Black Friday, Cyber Monday and various other holidays promotions in November and December.
The "holidays" can be more then Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you think globally, there are dozens of holiday seasons that you could use to promote promotions and increase profits.
It's just a matter of knowing which part of the globe to search.
US End-Of-Year Trends For SaaS and Software Purchases
Within the U.S., many industries see a significant lift in sales at the end of the year. For example, hobby, toy, and game stores earn 35% of their total annual sales around the holidays. But is this true for SaaS and software?
Using five years of data We looked at the monthly average from all software sales that were made through 's platform to customers located in the U.S. Then, we compared every month's revenue to the annual average.
The sales are at their increase in November, but they continue to be strong through the close of the year.
Average US SaaS and Software Sales
Again, looking at the quarter as a whole it is clear that the fourth quarter is much more successful than the three previous quarters.
US SaaS and Software Revenues by Quarter
This is only data on sales in the U.S. However, what are global trends?
Global End-of-Year Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases
For a better understanding of consumer behaviour worldwide, we studied SaaS and software purchase across eight important markets including the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia and China.
Again, when we looked at October through December revenue compared to the monthly average for October through December We did notice an increase in sales in October, November, and December, with the highest sales occurring in November . the peak is significantly higher on a global scale.
Average global SaaS and Software Sales
Be aware that these figures reflect where the client is in, and not where the corporate headquarters. This suggests that those Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales actually drive an increase in revenues worldwide for SaaS and software businesses.
Average Monthly Revenue per country (2016-2020)
When we break down more into the data and look at the results, we find that although Q4 continues to be the strongest quarter for all countries, the increase differs significantly from one country to the next country. As an example, among the countries that we examined, China and Germany had the highest average increases during November.
B2B Versus B2C End Of Year Performance
There's plenty of anecdotal talk about sales in B2B slowing in the 4th quarter. It's possible that this is the case for sales processes with longer buying cycles or accounts-based approaches. But, when we look at B2B SaaS and software sales, we find that the last quarter is actually the top quarter of the year. The average is 114% increase over the average for each quarter.
In order to compare the success of B2B against B2C businesses by randomly selecting 30 users that only offer B2B or B2C markets around the globe. Then, we looked at the revenue they earned from 2019 to 2020, and 2021 to discern trends.
It is evident that the fourth quarter was the clear winner for B2B as well asB2C companies.
B2B Versus Quarterly B2C Sales
What does this information provide us with regard to the way SaaS as well as software companies can prepare for the holiday season? In the following sections, we'll outline the top practices for end-of-year campaigns. And we'll show you some additional data that can help you discover other holiday opportunities to drive revenues across the entire year.
5 Holiday Strategies for SaaS And Software Companies
1. Consider Different Marketing Strategies Per Country Or Region
If you conduct promotions in several countries or regions, take into consideration localizing your campaign.
In many countries, the rise in sales in November happens around Cyber Week, which is recognized by several countries around the globe. This includes Germany with the second-biggest November lift of the countries we compared.
The biggest boost was derived in China -- a country that Cyber Week is not as important as Singles' Day, which falls on November 11. Per our data, we found a large growth in sales China during the Singles' Day.
2. Include Regional and Other Calendars of Competitive Holidays Calendar
Our research reveals the potential throughout the year, as well. In particular, even though the revenue dropped in June in the majority of countries that we examined but it was up in China possibly because of the annual 618 shopping event, the second-largest ecommerce holiday in the world. Single's Day is the largest.
The majority of companies run promotional events during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, don't forget that there are many other holidays all through the year which you can use to increase revenue.
If your product enjoys high adoption in a specific region, it may be worthwhile to design a local calendar of holiday events for the area and then create a regional offer accordingly.
It's impossible to predict what will happen to your specific business, but you know your markets. Look over your records and observe what patterns and trends you find.
Generally, data from regions will give you a better sense of your return on investment (ROI) in any advertising campaign that you conduct.
Holidays Or Major Shopping Days Of Note
These are just a few ideas things to consider. There are many other events in particular areas, and we encourage you to research events in the regions you target.
- Chinese New Year/Spring Festival -It is always observed between January 21 and February 21
- Celebrated in China as well as other countries that have significant Chinese or Sinophone populations
- International Women's Day -- March 8
- National holiday in 27 countries across West, Central, and East Africa, Eastern Europe, Germany, China and North Korea
- Singles' Day -- November 11 is an Anti-Valentine Day holiday
- It is celebrated in Southeast Asia and Western Europe
- Diwali -- The 15th day of Kartik, the Hindu month Kartik (Usually late October or early November)
- Celebrated by the people of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean
- Click Frenzy -- Second Tuesday of November
- Australia
- Black Friday -- The Last Friday of November
- North America, much of Western Europe, China, much of Africa, Brazil, and Mexico participate
- Cyber Monday
- Most countries that participate with 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, much of Southeast Asia, South Africa
- Boxing Day -- December 26
- Celebrated in 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 and the beginning of September across the U.S. and Canada; and the very first Monday in October in Australia
- Much-loved all over the world
3. Promotional Marketing Efforts can Roll Over into Q1
Although software sales are slowing in the first quarter of the year, the drop may not be as steep as you expected. In January, sales remained good (above 90%) across areas like the US, Great Britain, Germany as well as Canada. A larger drop was seen in February.
A lot of sales and marketing departments have a break during the first quarter of the year to regroup or recharge. There's also a chance to be noticed during a slower season.
When you run campaigns during the fourth quarter, you're not only competing with your direct competitors. As the year comes to an end, year, inboxes of customers and social media feeds are filled with holiday promotions. Like any other time of year, you're competing for attention.
The months of January and February could be the ideal time to experiment with some new and exciting things.
4. Monitor Your Sales with an Index of Seasonality
Track the success of your campaign year after year to make sure the increase in spending doesn't exceed the increase in sales.
Monthly-over month (MoM) as well as year-over-year (YoY) increase can tell you something, but these aren't the only way to examine the performance.
An index of seasonality similar to the one we utilized in our guide will show how the current month compares to the average month of the year.
We suggest keeping track of annual campaigns YoY and comparison of the results with other campaigns you run throughout the year.
Be aware that a monthly increase in revenues may not provide all the information needed to judge the success of a campaign. In the case of Cyber Monday, for instance, based on the time zone and how purchases are processed Cyber Monday sales could last into December. If you only look at the sales figures for November it is possible that you don't see the full image.
When you're making plans for your promotional events Here are some others KPIs we suggest tracking.
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5. Accent on Customer Recognition
Even if you're not doubling your revenues at the conclusion of the year, Christmas season is the best opportunity to improve customer relationships, especially if you have the SaaS product.
Use the holidays for a chance to thank your current or loyal customers by offering special incentives, giveaways, gifts or personal offers. Here are some ideas from similar SaaS and software companies have used successfully:
- Create the "Holiday Bundle" promotion using your favorite add-ons, or a complementary course.
- Provide a significant discount on subscription plans or software upgrade.
- Offer a promotional gift in which customers are urged to purchase subscriptions, software or subscriptions for their friends and family.
- Create the "Treat Yourself" promotion encouraging clients to purchase something to treat themselves at the time of the holiday.
- You can give away an annual subscription, or upgrade in a loyalty or referral program.
- Make something extra special to email newsletter users.
4. Reward your affiliates
Many affiliates, whether they're individuals or companies, may be planning to push hard throughout the holidays and this makes it an ideal moment to reward them by offering more commissions or a particularly good deal to promote.
How Do I Help?
There are several ways that's complete-stack marketplace can assist you over the holiday season and beyond.
1. Support Inquiry Management
If you expect a large growth in your orders over the holidays, is your customer support team ready for this? They can handle support related to purchases on behalf of you, which will save your time and money which can be used for increasing sales over the holiday season.
2. Localized Languages, Currencies as well as payment methods
In order to compete and succeed on the international market it is essential that your company offers a localized shopping experience that is compatible with a variety of regulations, languages, and local preferences.
The most popular payment options are different by location. If you discern a trend in prominent regions on your site analytics, you can narrow down payment methods you should automatically offer to global shoppers. This includes digital wallets like PayPal, credit cards, and wire transfers. If you offer the most popular payment method, you will be able to reduce the abandonment of your cart and declines in payments.
It offers localized checkout options that converts the prices to the customer's preference for local currency as well as language and gives a range of payment alternatives.
3. Global Tax Management and Regulation Compliance
The global consumer doesn't like unanticipated tax or regulatory obligations that could be incredibly disrupting to their purchase experience.
Automatically calculates tax, VAT as well as GST at payment process and makes sure that laws like GDPR as well as PSD2 are automatically applied to impacted transactions.