What Are the Best and Worst Times of Year for eCommerce?

Whether you’re selling food and beverages or other products online, there are certain times of the year that are good for eCommerce. Eventually, you’ll experience a slow period, but there are ways to predict when they’ll happen and allow you to prepare for these slumps.

The following are some potential factors that may affect your sales throughout the year.

Business Factors

To determine when it’s best to sell online, one of the first areas to look at is your internal operations. There are multiple factors pertaining to your industry and company that you should take into account.

The Types of Products You Sell

One of the main factors to consider is the line of products you sell. Certain types of products will be more popular among consumers at different times of the year. For example, certain frozen foods such as ice cream will sell more during the summer months than over the winter. Meanwhile, other products might be more popular as gifts over the holidays and sell during these periods.

By looking at the times of year when your products sell well, you can determine when it’s best to stock up and prepare for the busy season.

Your Marketing Efforts

Another big factor that will determine whether you sell well throughout the year is marketing. The marketing strategy you have in place can help or hinder your business, depending on how effective it is.

Through the use of SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing, and other marketing campaigns such as working with influencers, you’ll be able to get your brand out there and stay top-of-mind among consumers. However, consistency is key.

In your marketing, you should continue to run campaigns even during slow periods. This will help maintain brand awareness and make sure people don’t forget about your company as competitors take the spotlight. By the time the in-season arrives, you’ll be the first brand to come to mind when people are ready to make a purchase. This will yield high ROI from your marketing strategies if you can maintain that momentum.

How Well You Understand Your Audience

You should always have a deep understanding of your customers to effectively sell to them. Conduct plenty of market research into your audience to determine what they want and need from your brand. From there, you can create highly targeted campaigns to connect with audiences using the right messaging and visuals.

Audience segmentation is a best practice whereby you can group customers by interest or demographics. In doing so, you can develop buyer personas that speak to each segment, with each persona targeting a different type of customer based on age, gender, occupation, etc.

Keeping each segment in mind, you can cater your marketing efforts to them more effectively with the right strategy.

Quality of Customer Service

The kind of customer service you provide will also play into how well you sell throughout the year. A good eCommerce business will be consistently communicative and work to keep customers satisfied.

Make sure your business allows customers to contact you with questions or concerns and address them with a quick response. You should also respond to negative reviews and feedback to let people know you hear their complaints and use those to continually improve your business.

If you show that you value your customers’ input and respond well to them, this will encourage people to purchase from you more frequently and refer friends and family to you as well. 

External Factors

In addition to a variety of internal factors, some external aspects will dictate how well an eCommerce business sells over the course of the year. These include the following:

Seasons, Holidays, and Weather Conditions

Some external factors affecting how well a business sells online include seasonal changes, major holidays, and weather. 

For example, sales are likely to increase for many businesses in the days, weeks, or even months leading up to Christmas, Black Friday, and many other holidays that people celebrate. Depending on the product, you’re also more or less likely to sell during certain seasons, with some products selling well during the summer while others sell better during the cooler months of the year.

Additionally, the type of weather that shoppers experience will also contribute to sales. In fact, one study discovered that online sales tend to decrease when the weather is nice, particularly on the weekends when people are out. On the other hand, inclement weather may keep people inside and inspire them to spend more time and money online.

The Economy

Another major external factor that’s out of your control is the economy, including the domestic and global economies. Certain elements such as politics and war can have a significant impact on the economy, which can then affect your sales. The economy could influence the way consumers shop online, or it can influence how manufacturers operate. 

Current Trends

The types of products and industries that are trending will further impact eCommerce sales. What people are interested in buying today may not be what they’re into tomorrow, making it important for eCommerce business owners to keep up with the trends in their industry and work to align their businesses with them.

News stories affecting a certain industry could influence popular trends, and celebrities and influencers could further cause or spread certain trends.

Determine the Best Times of Year to Sell and Optimize Campaigns Accordingly

The fact is that your eCommerce business will see both busy and slow periods throughout the year. While this is unavoidable, you can better prepare your business to handle every period with the right strategy. Keep an eye on your sales figures and continue marketing your brand, understanding your audience, and keeping up with the latest industry trends. By taking these and other steps, you’ll be able to maximize your profits more consistently.

If you would like to learn more about how to ensure your business has the best chance to succeed, connect with the experts at Gray Growth Logistics today.