Learn More From Q4 2022 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend Report -
The fourth quarter is by far the most crucial period for software companies across the globe.
This was confirmed by analyzing sales statistics from more than 300 SaaS as well as software-based companies that use our billing platform. We discovered that Q4 is by far the best-performing quarter of the year in both commercial and consumer sales.
And here's our question to you: Are you taking advantage of the quarter? The software industry in November are able to see anywhere from 11% to 24% over the annual average revenue.At the conclusion this year consumers are ready to spend money on subscriptions and software- are you using the marketing budget wisely?
In this article, you'll find:
- The trends in US software sales per quarter and month
- What software's sales are different around the world throughout the year
- A comparative between B2C and B2B B2B sales from quarter to quarter
- Tips on taking advantage of the holidays and other seasonally-based occasions around the globe
About Our Data
's billing platform supports over 3500 SaaS and software firms that have customers found in over 200 nations or regions. In this guide, we'll concentrate on where the sales happen and not where a company is located.
Also, we'll be looking at the monthly average revenue of all sales that are made in a specific country using 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 running Black Friday, Cyber Monday and various other holidays promotions in November and December.
The "holidays" are greater than Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you consider the global context, there are dozens of occasions to run promotions and drive revenue.
You just have to know where in the world to go.
US End-of-Year Trends SaaS And Software Purchases
Within the U.S., many industries have a substantial increase in sales toward the close each year. In particular toys, hobbies, and gaming stores make 35% of their total annual sales in the period of the holiday season. What about SaaS as well as software?
With five years of information We looked at the monthly average from all software sales that were made on the platform in the U.S. We then compared each month to the yearly average.
Sales increase in November, but they keep growing until the close of the year.
Average US SaaS and Software Sales
When we look at the whole quarter and comparing it to the previous three quarters, we can see that the fourth quarter to be stronger than the other three.
US SaaS and Software Revenues by Quarter
This is only data on sales in the U.S. However, what are global trends?
Global Trends at the End of Year for SaaS and Software Purchases
For a better understanding of consumer behaviour globally, we looked at SaaS and software purchases across eight important markets including that of the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia as well as China.
Once again, when we looked at October through December's revenue in comparison to the monthly average for October through December We did notice an increase in the sales during October, November, and December, with sales peaking most in November -- and it is also significantly more on a global scale.
Average Worldwide SaaS, Software and Sales
Keep in mind that the numbers reflect where the client is located, not the headquarters of the company, which suggests that those Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals really do drive an increase in revenues worldwide for SaaS and software businesses.
Average Monthly Revenue per country (2016-2020)
If we look at the data further, we see that while Q4 remains the strongest quarter everywhere, the lift is different from country country. In the case of nations we looked at, China and Germany had the biggest average spikes at the end of November.
B2B Versus B2C End Of Year Performance
There's plenty of in-depth speculation of B2B sales slowing in the fourth quarter. It's possible that this is the case for sales processes with long buying cycles, or for those using accounts-based approaches. However, when we examine B2B SaaS as well as software sales and the final quarter actually is the most profitable period of the year, with an average of 114% over the average for each quarter.
To compare the performance of B2B in comparison to B2C businesses by randomly selecting 30 clients that offer B2B or B2C markets around the globe. We then examined the revenue they earned from 2019 to 2020 and 2021 to discern patterns.
It is evident that this quarter was the most successful quarter for B2B as well asB2C businesses.
B2B vs B2C Quarterly Sales
What can these findings tell us about how SaaS as well as software companies can approach the holidays? In the next few sections, we'll offer best practices for end-of-year campaigns. And we'll show you some extra data to help you discover additional holiday opportunities to drive revenues throughout the year.
5 Christmas Strategies For SaaS And Software Companies
1. Think about different marketing strategies for each the Country or Region
If you run promotions in several countries or regions, consider localizing your campaigns.
Many countries' sales uptick in November probably happens around Cyber Week, which is celebrated by many countries across the world. This includes Germany with the second-biggest November lift of the countries we compared.
But the biggest lift resulted in China which is a nation in which Cyber Week is not as important as Singles' Day, which falls on November 11. According to our analysis we observed a significant rise in sales in China on singles' Day.
2. Add Regional and Other Less Calendars of Competitive Holidays Calendar
The data we analyzed reveals potential opportunities throughout the year too. For example, while revenues fell in June across all the countries we looked at, it increased in China likely due to the annual 618 shopping event, the second-largest ecommerce day in the country. Single's Day is the largest.
Many companies conduct promotions during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But don't forget that there are many other holidays all through the year you can leverage for increased profits.
If your product is gaining great popularity in one particular area then it might be worth to create a regional holiday calendar for that area and create a specific regional offering in accordance with.
We aren't able to tell you what's going to happen to the specific company, but you know the markets you are competing in. Take a look at the data you have and look for trends and patterns you discover.
The general rule is that regional information will give you a better sense of your ROI (ROI) for every marketing campaign you run.
The Holiday Season Or Significant Shopping Days Of Note
Here are some ideas things to consider. There are others in certain regions, so we suggest you to research events in the regions you market to.
- Chinese New Year/Spring festival -The date is usually between January 21 until February 21
- Celebrated in China and other countries with large Chinese or Sinophone population
- 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 15th of December in Kartik, the Hindu month Kartik (Usually the end of October or early November)
- The is famous throughout South Asia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean
- Click Frenzy - the second Tuesday of November
- Australia
- Black Friday -- Last Friday of November
- North America, much of Western Europe, China, much of Africa, Brazil, and Mexico take part
- 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, 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 in much of Europe, Russia, Africa, Central and South America The first Monday of September, in both Canada, the U.S. and Canada; and the first Monday of October in Australia
- Much-loved throughout the world
3. Promotional Marketing Efforts can Roll Over into Q1
Although software sales are slowing in the beginning of the year however, it could not be as drastic as you'd like. Sales in January remained steady (above 90 percentage) across The US, Great Britain, Germany, and Canada. However, the biggest drop took place in February.
Many sales and marketing teams take it easy in the first quarter to rest or recharge. There's also a chance to stand out even in the midst of a more competitive time.
If you launch campaigns in the fourth quarter, it's not only competition against the competition of your own. As the year comes to an end, year, the inboxes of people's social media feeds are flooded with holiday promotions. More than any other time of year there's a lot of competition 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 marketing campaigns over time to make sure that an increase in spend does not exceed an increase in sales.
Monthly-over month (MoM) and year-over-year (YoY) increase can tell you much, but those aren't the only methods to assess the performance.
A seasonality index like that we have used in this guide will show how the current month compares to the average month of the year.
We suggest keeping track of annual campaigns YoY and comparing the results against other campaigns you run throughout the year.
Be aware that a month-long increase in revenues may not provide the full picture of the success of a campaign. As an example, based on time zones and when orders are made Cyber Monday sales could extend into December. If you look only at November sales numbers You may not get the full image.
When you're making plans for your promotional events, here are a few other KPIs that we would recommend keeping track of.
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5. Concentrate On Customers Recognizing Customers
Even if you're not doubling your profits at the close of the year, the Christmas season is the best time to work on relationship with your customers, particularly if you have a SaaS product.
Take advantage of the Christmas season to express your appreciation to existing or VIP customers through special promotional offers, gifts, giveaways or personal offers. Here are some suggestions from other SaaS and software companies have been successful with:
- You can run a "Holiday Bundle" promo using the top add-ons and even the option of a complimentary training.
- Provide a significant discount on a subscription plan or an upgrade to software.
- Offer a promotional gift that encourages customers to purchase subscriptions or software for their friends and family.
- Run an "Treat Yourself" promotion encouraging consumers to purchase gifts to treat themselves at the time of the holiday.
- You can give away an annual subscription or upgrade to those in a loyalty or referral 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 through the holiday season and this makes it the perfect time to reward them with an increased commission or a particularly good deal that they can recommend.
How Can Help
Here are a few methods that's fully-stack platform for commerce will help you through the holidays and beyond.
1. Support Information Management
If you anticipate a significant increase in orders during the holiday season Are you and your customer service team prepared for it? Support for purchase-related inquiries can be handled on behalf of you, which will save you hours and budget that can be focused on increasing sales over the season of giving.
2. Localized Languages, Currencies, And 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 language, rules, and local preferences.
The payment methods that are most preferred differ by region. If you can see a trend of popular regions in your website analytics, you can narrow down payment methods you should automatically offer to customers from all over the world. These include digital wallets such as PayPal and credit cards and wire transfers. When you provide the best method of payment, you'll be able to reduce abandoned carts and decreases in payment.
provides a checkout service that is localized that automatically converts your product's prices to the customer's local currency and preferred language and 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 unsettling to shoppers.
automatically calculates taxes, VAT as well as GST at checkout and ensures regulations such as GDPR and PSD2 are applied automatically to affected transactions.