Find Out More About Q4 2022 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend Report -
The fourth quarter is by far the most crucial period for software companies across the globe.
We verified this by looking over the sales figures of more than 300 SaaS and software companies which use our bill-pay platform. We found that Q4 was one of the top-performing quarters in the entire year, both for commercial and consumer sales.
We'd like to ask your company: Are you benefitting from this quarter? In November, software companies are able to see anywhere from 11% to 24% more than the annual average revenue.At the close in the calendar year consumers are willing to invest money on software and subscriptions -Do you use the marketing budget wisely?
In this report, you'll find:
- The trends in US software sales per the month and by the quarter
- What software's sales are different across the globe throughout the year
- A comparative of B2C and B2B sales between quarters
- Strategies for taking advantage of holidays and other seasonal opportunities all over the world
About Our Data
's billing platform supports over 3500 SaaS and software companies who have customers found in over 200 nations or regions. In this guide, we'll be focusing on how sales are made as opposed to where a company is located.
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 one particular year.
It's suggested by our data that it's worthwhile conducting Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holiday promotions in November and December.
The "holidays" can be much more that Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you think globally there are many holiday seasons that you could use to run promotions and drive revenues.
All you need is to know which part of the globe to search.
US Year-End Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases
The U.S., many industries have a substantial increase in sales at the end season. For example the hobby, toy and game stores earn 35% of their total annual revenue in the period of the holiday season. What about SaaS as well as software?
With five years of information We looked at the average monthly revenue of software sold through 's platform to customers in the U.S. We then compared each month's results to the year-long average.
Sales increase in November, but they remain strong until the close of the year.
Average US SaaS and Software Sales
Looking at the entire quarter, we see the fourth quarter is much better than the previous three.
US SaaS and Software sales by quarter
The data is exclusive to the U.S. But what about global trends?
Global Trends at the End of Year for SaaS and Software Purchases
To better understand the behavior of consumers across the globe, we examined SaaS and software purchases across eight major markets, including the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China.
When we assessed the month of October to December revenue compared to the monthly average for October through December We did notice an increase in revenue in November, October as well as December. the highest sales occurring in November -- and the highest point is much higher in the world.
Average Worldwide SaaS, Software and Sales
Keep in mind that the numbers depend on where the client is in, and not where the headquarters of the company, which suggests that those Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales actually drive a global increase in revenue for SaaS and software companies.
Average Monthly Revenues by country (2016-2020)
When we break down more into the data it is clear that, while Q4 is still the most robust quarter for all countries, the increase varies significantly from country to country. For example, of the countries that we examined, China and Germany had the highest average increases at the end of November.
B2B In contrast to B2C at the end of the year Performance
There's lots of in-depth speculation about B2B sales slowing down in the final quarter of the year. We suspect this is true for sales processes with long buying cycles, or for those using an account-based approach. When we take a examine B2B SaaS as well as software sales in general and the last quarter is actually the most profitable period of the year, with an average of 114% over the quarterly average.
In order to compare the success of B2B versus B2C businesses We randomly picked 30 clients that serve B2B or B2C markets across the globe. Then, we looked at their revenues from the years 2019 2020, and 2021 to discern the trends.
You can see that this quarter was the most successful quarter for B2B as well asB2C businesses.
B2B Versus B2C Quarterly Sales
What do these insights tell us about the way SaaS and software firms should prepare for the holiday season? In the next few sections, we'll outline the top methods for launching campaigns at the end of the year. And we'll show you some additional data that can help you identify additional holiday opportunities to drive revenue -- all through the year.
5 Holiday Strategies For SaaS And Software Companies
1. Take a look at different strategies to market for Country Or Region
If you run campaigns in several countries or regions, take into consideration localizing your campaign.
Many countries' increase in sales during November usually happens during Cyber Week, which is celebrated by several countries around the world. This is not just Germany where there is the second highest November increase of the countries we compared.
However, the largest increase resulted in China which is a nation in which Cyber Week is not as significant than Singles's Day which occurs on November 11. Per our data, we found a large rise in sales in China for Singles' Day.
2. Add Regional and Other Less Competition-based Holidays to your Campaign Calendar
Our data reveals opportunities for other times of the year as well. In particular, even though revenues fell in June across most countries we studied however, it grew in China possibly because of the annual 618-day shopping festival which is the second largest e-commerce holiday in the world. Single's Day is the largest.
Most companies will run promotions around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Don't forget, there are dozens of other holiday seasons throughout the year you can leverage to drive profits.
If your product has great popularity in one particular area, it may be worthwhile to design a local calendar of holiday events for the area and then create a region-specific offer in line with it.
It's impossible to predict what's going to happen to the specific company However, you're aware of your market. Take a look at your data and see what patterns and trends you can detect.
Generally, data from regions will provide you with a more accurate sense of your ROI (ROI) for every marketing campaign you run.
Holidays Or Important Shopping Days Of Note
Here are some ideas things to consider. There will be many more in specific regions, so we suggest you to investigate activities in your regions that you market to.
- Chinese New Year/Spring Festival -The date is usually between January 21 until February 21
- It is popular in China and countries with significant Chinese or Sinophone populations
- International Women's Day -- March 8
- National holidays in 27 countries throughout West, Central, and East Africa, Eastern Europe, Germany, China and North Korea
- Singles' Day -- November 11 is an Anti-Valentine Day holiday
- The is celebrated throughout Southeast Asia and Western Europe
- Diwali -- the fifteenth day in the Hindu month Kartik (Usually late October or in the early part of November)
- Celebrated by the people of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean
- Click Frenzy -- the second Tuesday of November
- Australia
- Black Friday -- The Last Friday in November
- North America, much of Western Europe, China, large portions of Africa, Brazil, and Mexico participate
- Cyber Monday
- Many countries that take part 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, the majority of Southeast Asia, South Africa
- Boxing Day -- December 26
- is 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 in Canada, the U.S. and Canada; and the first Monday of October in Australia
- Much-loved all over the world
3. Promotional Marketing Efforts can Roll Over into Q1
As software sales decline in the beginning of this year however, it could not be as drastic as you expected. Sales in January remained good (above 90 percentage) across the US, Great Britain, Germany and Canada. However, the biggest drop took place in February.
The majority of marketing and sales teams have a break at the beginning of the quarter to regroup or recharge. But there's also an opportunity to stand out during a slower season.
If you launch campaigns in the fourth quarter of the year, you're not only competing with those who are directly competing with you. At the end of the year, the inboxes of people's social media feeds are filled with Christmas-related promotions. More than any other period of the year there's a lot of competition for attention.
The months of January and February could be the perfect time to try something completely new or even big.
4. You can track your sales using an Index of Seasonality
Monitor the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns over time to ensure the increase in spending isn't more than the growth in revenues.
The month-over-month (MoM) and year-over-year (YoY) increase can tell you much, but those aren't the only ways to evaluate your performance.
An index of seasonality like the one we used in this guide will show how the current month compares with the normal one in the course of a year.
It is recommended to track the results of your annual campaigns YoY, and then compare the results to other campaigns that you have run through the year.
Be aware that a monthly increase in revenue may not give you the full picture of the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. As an example, based on your time zone and the date orders are made Cyber Monday sales could extend into December. If you only look at November sales numbers, you may not see the entire picture.
When you're making plans for your promotional events, here are a few other KPIs we recommend tracking.
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5. Accent on the Customer's Recognizing Customers
Although you may not be able to double your revenue at the end of the year, the holidays are the perfect moment to build relations with customers, particularly when you're using a SaaS product.
Use the holidays to show appreciation to your current or loyal customers by offering extravagant promotions, gifts, giveaways and personalized deals. Here are some ideas from others SaaS and software firms have used successfully:
- You can run a "Holiday Bundle" promotion with your top add-ons and even the option of a complimentary course.
- Offer a great discount on a subscription plan or upgrading software.
- Run a gift promotion in which customers are urged to purchase subscriptions or programs for family members and friends.
- Create an "Treat Yourself" promotion encouraging clients to purchase something to themselves for the holiday season.
- Offer a year-long subscription or upgrade to those who are enrolled in a referral or loyalty program.
- Do something special to newsletter email subscribers.
4. Reward your affiliates
Numerous affiliates, regardless of whether they're businesses or individuals, could be planning to push hard throughout the holidays, which makes it an ideal moment to reward them by offering a larger commission rate or a particularly good deal which they could recommend.
What Can I Do?
Below are some ways 's full-stack commerce platform can help you during the holiday season and beyond.
1. Support Information Management
If you expect a large increase in orders during the holiday season, is your customer support team ready? They can handle support related to purchases on your behalf, saving you hours and budget which can be used for selling more during the holiday season.
2. Localized Languages, Currency, And Payment Methods
To compete and win in the global marketplace Your business needs to provide an online shopping experience that is compatible with a variety of language, rules as well as local customs.
The payment methods that are most preferred are different by regions. If you discern a trend in prominent regions on your site analytics, it will help reduce the number of payment methods that you must offer international customers. This includes digital wallets like PayPal, credit cards, and wire transfers. If you offer the most popular option for payment, you'll help reduce the rate of abandoned carts and decreases in payment.
offers a localized checkout experience that automatically converts your product's prices to the customer's preference for local currency as well as languages and offers a wide variety of payment alternatives.
3. Global Tax Management and Regulation Compliance
International shoppers do not want to be impacted by an unexpected regulatory or tax burden, which can be extremely disruptive to the purchase process.
automatically calculates taxes, VAT, and GST in the checkout and ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR and PSD2 are automatically applied to affected transactions.