Find Out More About Q4 2022 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend report -
The fourth quarter of the year is considered to be the most crucial quarter for software companies around the world.
We verified this by looking over sales statistics from more than 300 SaaS and software companies which use our bill-pay platform. We found that Q4 was by far the best-performing quarter of the year in both business and consumer sales.
And here's our question to your company: Are you taking advantage of the quarter? The software industry in November have seen 11%- 24% more than the average monthly revenue.At the close this year customers are eager to pay on software and subscriptions -- are you using the marketing budget wisely?
In this report, you'll discover:
- The trends in US software sales, by quarter and month
- How software sales vary all over the world during the year
- A comparison of B2C and B2B sales from quarter to quarter
- Strategies for taking advantage of seasonal holidays and opportunities around the world
About Our Data
's billing platform supports over 3500 SaaS and software companies who have clients in more than 200 different countries and territories. In this article, we'll concentrate on how sales are made in contrast to where a company is located.
We'll also be looking at the median monthly income of all sales made within a particular country by employing a seasonal indicator, which compares the month to the typical revenue for one particular year.
Our data suggests it's worth conducting Black Friday, Cyber Monday and various other holidays promotions between November and the end of December.
But the "holidays" are much more then Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you look at the world from a global perspective you will find a myriad of occasions for promotions that will generate profits.
It's just a matter of knowing which part of the globe to look.
US Year-End Trends for SaaS And Software Purchases
In the U.S., many industries have a substantial increase in sales at the end season. In particular, hobby, toy, and game shops earn 35 percent of their annual revenues in the period of the holiday season. What about SaaS as well as software?
Using five years of data We looked at the average monthly revenue of software sold via the platform located in the U.S. Then we looked at the comparison of each month to the yearly average.
We see that sales peak in November but keep growing until to the end of the year.
Average US SaaS and Software Sales
Looking at the entire quarter and comparing it to the previous three quarters, we can see that the fourth quarter to be more successful than the three previous quarters.
US SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter
This is only data on sales in the U.S. But what about 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 purchases across eight important markets including the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia and China.
When we examined the October-to December's sales compared with the average monthly revenue for the year, we did see increased the sales during October, November, and December, with the highest sales occurring during November, and it is also significantly more on a global scale.
Average Global SaaS and Software Sales
Be aware that these figures depend on where the customer is in, and not where the headquarters of the company, which suggests that those Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales actually drive the world to increase revenue for SaaS as well as software firms.
Average Monthly Revenue by country (2016-2020)
When we break down more into the data and look at the results, we find that although Q4 remains the strongest quarter for all countries, the increase varies significantly from country to the country. In the case of nations we looked at, China and Germany had most significant average rises during November.
B2B Versus B2C End Of Year Performance
There's lots of anecdotal evidence about sales in B2B slowing in the fourth quarter. It's possible that this is the case in sales systems that have more lengthy buying cycles or the account-based model. But, when we examine B2B SaaS as well as software sales generally, we find that this is the most profitable period of the year, with an average of 114% increase over the average for each quarter.
For a comparison of the results of B2B against B2C companies by randomly selecting 30 customers that exclusively offer B2B and B2C markets around the globe. We then examined their revenues from the years 2019 2020, and 2021 in order to identify the trends.
As you can see, the fourth quarter was the clear winner for B2B andB2C firms.
B2B Versus B2C Quarterly Sales
What does this information tell us about the way SaaS as well as software companies can prepare for the holiday season? In the next few sections, we'll offer best techniques for the final days of the year. In addition, we'll provide more data to help find alternative occasions to increase revenue -- throughout the year.
5 Christmas Strategies for SaaS And Software Companies
1. Think about different marketing strategies for each Country Or Region
If you run promotions in different countries or regions take into consideration localizing your campaign.
Many countries' rise in sales in November occurs around Cyber Week, which is observed by numerous countries around the globe. This includes Germany where there is the second-biggest November lift of all the countries we studied.
The biggest boost was derived in China -- a country that Cyber Week is not as significant like Singles' Day that falls on the 11th of November. Per our data we observed a significant increase in sales in China for Singles' Day.
2. Include Regional and Other Competition-based Holidays to your Campaign Calendar
The data we analyzed reveals potential opportunities for other times of the year, as well. For example, while revenue dipped in June in most countries we studied but it was up in China possibly because of the annual 618 shopping day that is second in terms of ecommerce holiday in the world. Single's Day is the largest.
Many companies conduct promotions around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, don't forget that there are many other holidays all through the year you can leverage to increase revenue.
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 develop a special region-specific offer in line with it.
We aren't able to tell you what will happen to the specific company however, you are aware of your markets. Look over your data and see what patterns and trends you find.
Generally, data from regions can give you a greater understanding of the ROI (ROI) in any advertising campaign you run.
Holidays Or Significant Shopping Days Of Note
Here are some ideas you should think about. There will be many others in certain areas, and we encourage you to look into activities in your regions that you market to.
- Chinese New Year/Spring festival -- Always falls between January 21 to the 21st of February
- It is popular in China as well as other countries that have significant Chinese or Sinophone population
- International Women's Day -- March 8
- National holidays in 27 countries across West, Central, and East Africa, Eastern Europe, Germany, China and North Korea
- Singles' Day -- November 11 An Anti-Valentine Day holiday
- The is celebrated throughout Southeast Asia and Western Europe
- Diwali is the fifteenth day in Kartik, the Hindu month Kartik (Usually late October or in the early part of November)
- The is famous by the people of 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, the majority of Africa, Brazil, and Mexico are all participants.
- Cyber Monday
- The majority of countries who participate in 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 in much of Europe, Russia, Africa, Central and South America and the beginning of September across Canada, the U.S. and Canada; and the first Monday in October in Australia
- Widely celebrated throughout the world
3. Promotional Efforts Can Roll Into Q1
While software sales slow down during the first quarter of the year but the decline could not be as drastic as you'd like. The sales in January were solid (above 90 percent) across the US, Great Britain, Germany, and Canada. The bigger drop occurred in February.
Many sales and marketing teams are able to relax during the first quarter of the year 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. When the time comes to close the year, people's inboxes and social media feeds overflow with Christmas-related promotions. More than any other period of the year, you're competing for attention.
The months of January and February could be an ideal time to test some new and exciting things.
4. Track Your Sales Using an Index of Seasonality
Monitor the effectiveness of your campaigns year-over-year to make sure the increase in spending does not exceed an increase in revenues.
Month-over-month (MoM) and year-over-year (YoY) Growth can reveal something, but these aren't the only way to examine the performance.
A seasonality index like that we have 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 each year's campaigns YoY and comparing the results against other campaigns that you have run through the year.
Keep in mind that an increase in monthly revenue may not give you all the information needed to judge the performance of your campaign. In the case of Cyber Monday, for instance, based on your time zone and the date the purchase is processed, Cyber Monday sales may last into December. If you just look at November sales numbers it is possible that you don't see the full picture.
When you're making plans for your promotional events Here are some other KPIs we recommend tracking.
| Minimum | Advanced |
|---|---|
|
|
5. Focus On the Customer's Recognition
Even if you're not doubling your revenues at the conclusion of the year, the Christmas season is the best moment to build customer relationships, especially when you're using the SaaS product.
Use the holidays for a chance to thank your existing or VIP customers through extravagant incentives, giveaways, gifts and personalized deals. Here are some suggestions from other SaaS and software firms have used successfully:
- Create a "Holiday Bundle" promotion using your favorite add-ons, or the option of a complimentary education.
- Offer a great discount on a subscription plan or upgrading software.
- Offer a promotional gift in which customers are urged to purchase subscriptions or software for family members and friends.
- Run a "Treat Yourself" promotion encouraging clients to purchase something to themselves for the holiday season.
- Offer a year-long subscription or upgrade to those in a loyalty or referral program.
- Do something special for email newsletter subscribers.
4. Reward your affiliates
Numerous affiliates, regardless of whether they're individuals or companies, may plan to work through the holiday season, which makes it an ideal opportunity to reward them with an increased commission or a particularly good deal that they can promote.
How Can Help
Here are a few 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 for this? They can handle support related to purchases for you, saving the time and funds that can be focused on selling more during the holiday season.
2. Localized Languages, Currencies, And Payment Methods
To compete and win on the international market it is essential that your company offers an experience for shopping that is localized and can accommodate a wide range of languages, regulations and preferences local to the area.
The most popular payment options differ depending on the location. If you are able to observe a pattern of the most the most popular areas on your site analytics, it will help select the payment options that you must offer global shoppers. It includes electronic wallets, such as PayPal and credit cards as well as wire transfer. If you offer the most popular option for payment, you'll have the ability to decrease abandoned carts and decreases in payment.
provides a checkout service that is localized which automatically converts your item'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
The global consumer doesn't like unanticipated tax or regulatory obligations that could be incredibly unsettling to shoppers.
Automatically calculates VAT, taxes and GST automatically at checkout and ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR and PSD2 are automatically applied for impacted transactions.