Get More Out Of Q4 2022 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend The Report
The fourth quarter is the most important quarter for companies that develop software around the world.
We confirmed this by reviewing sales data from over 300 SaaS and software companies who use our platform for billing. We found that Q4 was one of the top-performing quarters of the year in both business and consumer sales.
And here's our question to you: Are you really taking advantage of the quarter? The software industry in November have seen 11%- 24% over the typical monthly revenue.At the end of the year, buyers are eager to pay on software and subscriptions -Are you using the marketing budget wisely?
In this report, you'll discover:
- Trends in US software sales, by the month and by the quarter
- What software's sales are different around the world throughout the year
- A comparative between B2C and B2B B2B sales from quarter to quarter
- Strategies for taking advantage of the holidays and other seasonally-based occasions around the globe
About Us Data
The billing platform of's supports more than 3500 SaaS and software firms that have clients in more than 200 nations or regions. This guide will be focusing on how sales are made as opposed to where the business is.
We'll also be looking at the monthly average revenue of all sales made in a specific country using a seasonal index, that compares the month's revenue to the typical revenue for one particular year.
It's suggested by our data that it's worthwhile having Black Friday, Cyber Monday as well as other promotions for the holidays during November and December.
However, the "holidays" are much more that Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you think globally you will find a myriad of holidays you can leverage to promote promotions and increase revenues.
It's just a matter of knowing where in the world to go.
US End-Of-Year Trends For SaaS and Software Purchases
The U.S., many industries see a significant lift in sales at the end of the year. For example, hobby, toy, and gaming stores make 35 percent of their overall revenues in the period of the holiday season. However, is this the case for SaaS as well as software?
Utilizing five years of data We looked at the median monthly income of all software sales made through 's platform to customers in the U.S. We then compared each month's results to the year-long average.
Sales are at their peak in November and continue to be strong through the end of the year.
Average US SaaS and Software Sales
When we look at the quarter as a whole and comparing it to the previous three quarters, we can see that the fourth quarter as stronger than the other three.
US SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter
The data is exclusive to the U.S. What about global trends?
Global End-Of-Year Trends For SaaS And Software Purchases
To understand consumer behavior across the globe, we examined SaaS and software purchases across eight markets that are major, which include those in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia and China.
Again, when we examined the October-to December revenue compared to the monthly average for October through December We did notice an increase in the sales during October, November as well as December. sales peaking in November -- and the peak is significantly higher in the world.
Average Worldwide SaaS and Software Sales
Keep in mind that the numbers depend on where the customer is situated, not on the location of the headquarters of the company, which suggests these Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals really do drive a global increase in revenue for SaaS as well as software firms.
Average Monthly Revenues by country (2016-2020)
When we break down the data further it is clear that, while Q4 remains the strongest period for everyone, the magnitude varies significantly from country to country. As an example, among the nations we looked at, China and Germany had the highest average increases at the end of November.
B2B Versus B2C End Of Year Performance
There's a lot of anecdotal talk about B2B sales slowing down during the final quarter of the year. We suspect this is true for sales processes with more lengthy buying cycles or accounts-based approaches. But, when we look at B2B SaaS and software sales and this is the most profitable quarter in the entire year with an average 114% higher than the average for each quarter.
To compare the performance of B2B in comparison to B2C companies by randomly selecting 30 users that only serve B2B as well as B2C markets around the globe. We then examined their revenue from 2019, 2020, and 2021 in order to identify the trends.
It is evident that this quarter was the most successful quarter for B2B andB2C businesses.
B2B Versus B2C Quarterly Sales
What do these insights tell us about what SaaS and software firms should prepare for the holiday season? In the next few sections, we'll offer best techniques for the final days of the year. And we'll show you some extra data to help you find additional occasions to increase revenues across the entire year.
5 Holiday Strategies For SaaS And Software Companies
1. Think about different marketing strategies for each Country Or Region
If you are running campaigns across several countries or regions, think about localizing your promotions.
Many countries' increase in sales during November usually is observed around Cyber Week, which is celebrated by several countries around the globe. That includes Germany, which has the second largest increase in November of the countries we compared.
The biggest boost resulted from China -- a country that Cyber Week is not as important as Singles' Day, that falls on the 11th of November. Per our data we observed a significant rise in sales in China on singles' Day.
2. Include Regional and Other Competitive Holidays to Your Campaign Calendar
Our data reveals opportunities for other times of the year too. In particular, even though the revenue dropped in June in the majority of countries that we examined, it increased in China possibly because of China's annual 618-day shopping festival which is the second largest e-commerce day for the nation. Single's Day is the largest.
Many companies conduct promotions on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Don't forget, there are numerous other celebrations throughout the year that you could leverage to drive profits.
If your product has great adoption in a specific region It could be beneficial to design a local calendar of holidays for the region and create a specific regional offering in accordance with.
We aren't able to tell you the future of your specific business, but you know the markets you are competing in. Check out your data and see what patterns and trends you find.
Generally, data from regions will provide you with a more accurate idea of your return on investment (ROI) in any advertising campaign you run.
Holidays Or Major Shopping Days Of Note
Here are a few to think about. There are more in specific areas, and we encourage you to investigate activities in your regions that you target.
- Chinese New Year/Spring Festival -- Always falls between January 21 and February 21
- is celebrated in China and other countries with large Chinese or Sinophone numbers
- International Women's Day -- March 8
- National holiday celebrated in 27 nations 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 is the 15th of December in Kartik, the Hindu month of Kartik (Usually the end of October, or even early November)
- Celebrated in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean
- Click Frenzy - The Second Tuesday in November
- Australia
- Black Friday -- The Last Friday of November
- North America, much of Western Europe, China, large portions of Africa, Brazil, and Mexico are all participants.
- Cyber Monday
- Many countries that take part on 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, most 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; the first Monday in September in the U.S. and Canada; and the very first Monday in October in Australia
- The HTML0 is widely praised all over the world
3. Promotional Strategies Can Be rolled into Q1
As software sales decline during the first quarter of the year, the drop could not be as drastic as you'd like. Sales in January remained solid (above 90 percentage) across The US, Great Britain, Germany as well as Canada. However, the biggest drop took place in February.
A lot of sales and marketing departments take it easy at the beginning of the quarter to recharge or regroup. But there's also an opportunity 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, the inboxes of people's social media feeds are filled with holiday promotions. In the most popular time of year, you're competing for attention.
January and February may be the ideal time to experiment with something new or big.
4. 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 doesn't exceed the increase in revenues.
Monthly-over month (MoM) as well as year-over-year (YoY) growth tells you something, but these aren't the only way to examine the performance.
An index of seasonality like the one employed in this article illustrates how one month compares to the average one in the course of a year.
We recommend tracking the results of your annual campaigns YoY, and then comparing the results against the other campaigns you are running throughout the year.
Be aware that a monthly increase in revenues may not provide all the information needed to judge the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. In the case of Cyber Monday, for instance, based on time zones and when purchases are processed Cyber Monday sales can last into December. If you only look at November sales numbers it is possible that you don't see the whole picture.
While you're planning your campaigns, here are a few others KPIs we recommend tracking.
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5. Accent on Customers Recognizing Customers
Although you may not be able to double your revenue at the end of the year, the Christmas season is the best moment to build relations with customers, particularly when you're using an SaaS product.
Make the most of the holiday season for a chance to thank your existing or VIP customers through extra generous incentives, giveaways, gifts, or personalized offers. Here are a few ideas which other SaaS and software firms have successfully used:
- Run the "Holiday Bundle" promo using the favorite add-ons, or a complementary education.
- Offer a great price on a subscription or software upgrade.
- Create a promotion for gifts that encourages customers to purchase subscriptions or software for family members and friends.
- Create an "Treat Yourself" promotion encouraging customers to buy something to treat themselves at the time of the holiday.
- Give away an annual subscription or upgrade to those in a loyalty or referral program.
- Do something special to email newsletter users.
4. Reward your affiliates
Numerous affiliates, regardless of whether they're businesses or individuals, could be planning to push all the way through the Christmas season and this makes it a good moment to reward them by offering an increased commission or a particularly good deal that they can advertise.
What Can I Do?
Below are some ways that's complete-stack marketplace can help you during the season of giving and even beyond.
1. Support Inquiry Management
If you expect a large rise in sales during the holidays Are you and your customer service team ready for this? They can handle support related to purchases on behalf of you, which will save the time and funds that can be focused on selling more during the season of giving.
2. Localized languages, currencies and Payment Methods
To compete and win on the international market, your business must offer an experience for shopping that is localized and is compatible with a variety of regulations, languages and preferences local to the area.
The most popular payment options vary by location. If you are able to observe a pattern of the most prominent regions on your site analytics, you can reduce the number of payment methods that you can offer automatically to international customers. It includes electronic wallets, such as PayPal, credit cards, and wire transfers. By offering the preferred payment method, you will help reduce the rate of abandoned carts and decreases in payment.
It offers localized checkout options that converts the price information into your customers' local currency and preferred language . It also gives a range of payment choices.
3. Global Tax Management and Regulation Compliance
Global shoppers don't want unexpected tax or regulatory requirements that could be incredibly disruptive to the purchase process.
Automatically calculates VAT, taxes as well as GST at payment process and makes sure that compliance with regulations like GDPR and PSD2 are applied automatically to impacted transactions.