Every business has seasonal trends in customer purchases – peaks and valleys in sales
or interest. They vary from product to product, but there are some
general trends that I have noticed in my various business lines:
October through December is the Christmas Shopping Season. Certain
things do very well then, others bomb. Non-gift items will not do well
during this time, but everything which can remotely be considered a
gift will sell better at this time than almost any other time of year.
Business startups are hard to sell during the Christmas season when
people are more focused on buying than on investing.
January to March are Lean Months. People are recovering from the
shopping frenzy, and there are few things that do well during this
time. You'll find though that home business items will do well during
this time as people begin to make new year's resolutions, and financial
goals are set (and they look around for a way to make more money). Home
organization items, debt relief, weight loss, and self-improvement
items also do ok during this slump time. It is also when people start
looking for travel information for vacation planning for the following
summer. Valentines Day presents some gift marketing opportunities.
March through May will get large sales from people spending their
income tax returns. Computers, vacations, food storage, cars, home
improvement items, and other large once a year purchase often happen at
this time. Easter also presents its own season, and items which are
related to spring, gift giving, or the holiday will experience a surge.
In general, the sales market tends to stabilize and begin a slow growth
to the next Christmas season.
June through August marks the summer selling season. Certain items do
really well during this time, others don't. Computers sell well as
people try to occupy students or prepare them for the next school year.
Recreational items sell well during the first half, anything related to
returning to school during the second half.
September is a transition month. Some businesses really gear up during
this time, others face a seasonal slump because people are often very
focused in getting readjusted to the new schoolyear or planning for the
Christmas season.
The trends for the products you sell may show some of these trends, or
not. It will take you a year or two to figure out what the full effects
are, even though you can make some generalizations based on this
information.
Written by Laura Wheeler, Mom to Eight, and owner of Firelight Web Studio - http://www.firelightwebstudio.com/
. Laura is an expert in small business startup, frugal website
development, and cost effective SEO and marketing. She has published 11
books, and has been published in 3 books which were edited by other
authors. Her web design firm does business differently - with policies
and procedures designed from the ground up to benefit small business
owners and first time website owners.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
