Cyber Weekend Benchmarking Data: 2023 Software and SaaS Holiday Spend Report
Q4 sales numbers usually outperform the rest of the year thanks to year-end holidays and the associated shopping cycle However, how much of this trend extend to software and SaaS sales? Does it help B2B business sales as well, or is it more just a B2C benefit?
is a seller of record for over 3500 companies that use our platform every day for selling digital products worldwide. We've looked at aggregate sales statistics to give you insights into the importance of Q4 to be to your SaaS, software or any other digital good commercial.
Although the latest trends in holiday shopping might have started by offering Black Friday deals and spread into Cyber Monday however, the whole weekend is nowadays referred to as Cyber Weekend -- and overall sales generally are strong as consumers are getting ready for their many Christmas celebrations. Are you maximizing all Q4 sales opportunities for your software-related business?
Below, we'll cover:
About Us Data
What is the Source of are the data are sourced
The company supports more than 3500 businesses in helping to sell digital goods across more than 200 countries and territories globally We've narrowed the information we've used in this report to keep the report applicable to software and SaaS firms.
These data are specific to where transactions took place, not which location the businesses are situated.
To get the overall statistics We selected eight nations which include: the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China in order to provide the full picture of the sales around the world.
When you are Using the Data Are From
The following data are gathered from the years 2018-2022 in order to provide most up-to-date insights, while showing trends that are relatively consistent across a five-year period as well as avoiding outliers that could skew the information unnecessarily.
We further use an index of seasonality to show every quarter's or month's sales against the year's weekly or monthly average.
US Year-End Trends SaaS and Software Purchases
We began by looking at U.S. software and SaaS sales data from 2018-2022 to gain insight into monthly and quarterly sales patterns over the past five years.
When we calculated the monthly average, we compared every month with this average to determine an approximate percentage. In the example above, if February has a percent of 90%, this signifies that it's 10 percent less in sales than the monthly average. If, for example, November has a percent at 111% it means its sales are 11% higher than the average monthly.
5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales by Month
While sales do peak during November when they are 11 percent higher than average for the month however, the sales for all three months in Q4 are the highest throughout the year, with October with a 4% increase and December at 8% higher.
5YR US Average SaaS as well Software sales by Quarter
Looking at the quarter's average Sales for Q4 are up by 8% -- high enough that each of the other three quarters fall below the average.
World Year-end Trends in SaaS and software purchases
Beyond the U.S., we combined data using the same parameters from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia as well as China. This provides a more clear image of how late-year software sales could vary across the world.
Actually, the bump gets bigger.
5YR average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Month
Global sales reached a yearly high of 16% higher in November compared to the average monthly. As in above U.S. data above, the months of October and December are the most profitable quarters of the year with respective 4% and 7% rises.
5YR Global Average Software and SaaS Sales by Quarter
When viewed from an annual perspective The Q4 numbers are 9% more than the quarter's average, once again that high enough to make the remaining three quarters below the mean.
While global Q4 quarterly sales were merely 1percent higher than the sales within the U.S. for the same quarter however, the November month saw a rise of 16% over that of the U.S.'s 11% increase during the same monthwhich suggests that November offers a tremendous opportunity for sales across the globe.
5YR SaaS Average and Software Sales per Month per Country
For more detail on how each month breaks into countries, we parsed the information for eight nations we included in our global review. Below is a look at what monthly software sales variations look like based on five years of data from the United States (US), Canada (CA), Germany (DE), Great Britain (GB), India (IN), Brazil (BR), Australia (AU), and China (CN).
Significantly high gains in countries like China and Germany in November point to a huge opportunity for SaaS as well as software firms to profit in Q4 in particular if they're trying to target those markets as part of an overall expansion plan.
Furthermore, even though U.S. data suggest a lower increase of just 11% in November, keep in mind that North America accounts for a very significant portion of worldwide software and SaaS sales. One study revealing 40% of 2022's global software revenue attributable to North America, and an additional study reporting as high as 57.5% of the 2020 worldwide SaaS market which is due to NA. Therefore, an rise of 11% during November within North America in the U.S. could mean a lot more revenue if you consider it a piece of the larger pie.
B2C vs. B2B
The majority of businesses that sell software globally serve the B2C and B2B markets, but regardless of whether your SaaS business focuses exclusively on either or only one the other, it is beneficial to keep track of how the Q4 sales patterns differ across the two markets. The information gathered can aid you in deciding how you should focus your sales and marketing efforts within those segments, especially if one segment offers a better opportunity.
The resulting data show the same general trends throughout the year. The fourth quarter was the best quarter of both of these segments.
B2C sales recorded an average bump that was 11% higher than the average for the quarter that is not surprising given the fact that this season is popular for encouraging consumerismthe word "consumer" is the wording.
Don't put too much faith in the B2B market in Q4. While B2B sales appear slightly more stable throughout the year than B2C revenue, a 5% lift in Q4 is significant in a high-spending segment, which is taking benefit of deals at the end of the year regardless of whether a consumer is buying either for themselves or their business. Corporate credit cards are still used by a lot of people, those who are looking to purchase software, and who may still want a good deal particularly if strict departmental budgets are a factor in the purchase decision.
Furthermore, some B2B customers could be looking to make use of funds from their budget prior to the close of the year so that their budget is not reduced the following year, or they might be pushing teams or departments to set up using the proper tools before the beginning of the new year. Specific business situations like these can result in increased sales for B2B during Q4 despite the numerous delays in work due to the holiday season.
Cyber Week Strategies For SaaS and Software Companies
Are you wondering how to take advantage of that Q4 bump? Regardless of whether you're targeting B2C or B2B customers Here are some strategic ways to increase software and SaaS sales by the end of the year.
Offer Partners Custom Coupon Codes
In addition, you'll have the ability to more accurately track how this sale promotion was able to perform compared with other coupons.
Do You Not Have Any Partners To Give Custom Coupons To? Locate Some!
If you're not yet taking the advantage of partnerships with promotional partners this holiday season could bring new contacts. Search for SaaS and software companies which offer products that compliments yours. (For example, if you make a database tool, look for companies that make front end tools.)
In addition to custom coupon codes, propose to swap Cyber Weekend promotions to each other's audiences in the form of emails, web banners, mentions on social media and other methods that will help both companies boost sales at the end of the year.
Send Your Own Prospects Email
Even if you choose not to go after partnership opportunities -for instance, if it's a larger project you'd need additional time to plan sending out emails to your current contact list of prospects is quick and easy tactic to execute.
Potential buyers can't benefit from offers they don't even know about So don't depend solely on banners for your website to grab the attention of buyers on a visit to your website. Bring your visitors on your site with proactive email messages about upcoming as well as current offers to draw the attention of those who are.
Send Your Current Customers an Email
Just like prospective customers, consumers can't get upsold if they don't know about the holiday sales, neither.
Here are a handful of the profitable opportunities to target the existing users you have:
- Add-ons to upsell. Review user statistics for the customers who use your products the frequently or most broadly, since they might have the highest likelihood of wanting additional features as well as usability.
- Upsell bigger subscriptions with more features. Just like with downloads, if you can pinpoint your product's power users, then you can target the ones most likely to purchase more from the product.
- Change freemium users to paying subscribers with an enticing sales. If freemium is a big component of your strategy, then a hefty holiday sale might serve as a lever to convert users who love the features they have access to but realize they would really benefit from lots more.
- Upsell from individual subscriptions to team subscriptions, or from team to enterprise subscriptions. It's not always easy to find out which power users are also the evangelists for your products within their own businesses, however if you possess user data that is contextual (such as that which can be obtained by your internal salesforce), Q4 could be a great time to target businesses with some customer penetration, and an opportunity to acquire many more.
- Cross-sell into entirely new items. If your business model has a number of separate products, there's a big chance to reach the customer customers of one with promotions to buy another or vice versa. If you're able to offer more products and the greater segmentation you can do, and the more chances you'll have.
- Switch users from annual to monthly subscriptions. It is the English phrase "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" frequently applies to business, as revenue available to your organization now might be better than slightly more revenue doled out slowly throughout the next year. Profit from buyers at a point of buying in Q4: Tempt buyers with an attractive deal to save on costs for the future by switching their monthly subscription to a yearly one.
Leverage Social Media
Social media platforms can be an excellent platform to commemorate holidays, and sharing festive content from your company can work well.
Numerous social media platforms provide advertising services that can focus on users according to geography or interests. Consider taking advantage of the possibility to show regional holiday ads within the relevant regions or the ability to show ads to people who have expressed interest in the holidays on the platform.
Conversely, organic social media content -- which can often be seen by all users who are following you, regardless of location can also be a good method of spreading sales, without restricting views to a tiny group of people. Just keep in mind that if your followers or the audience you are targeting is very broad, your holiday-specific organic posts must be as well.
Give More Exciting discounts in the The Target Geos
If you are experiencing greater profits in one particular area or just want to get into a different market, promoting more than usual discounts in particular regions can help you further profit from Cyber Weekend sales increases.
In order to implement this, make use of GeoIP-based elements on your marketing site to highlight regional-specific discounts.
You can then use the Store Builder Library to instantly apply the coupons in the checkout to help increase your conversion rates.
Localize Holiday Promotions
Although Cyber Weekend has become popular across the globe, there are still local holidays that may be more profitable in the specific area or nation you're trying to reach. Events such as Boxing Day can rival more U.S.-centric specials (such like Black Friday and Cyber Monday) in countries such as those in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Create your own holiday campaign by geography so you don't miss big opportunities in key regions.
What Can I Do?
Global Payments: Localized Languages Currencies and Payment Methods
knows that simply offering your product in more countries isn't enough -- it needs to be easy for consumers to decide whether to purchase.
Global Tax Management: Let Us Worry about Taxes
Consumer Support Management: Send Them to Us!
One of the other key tasks is the management of customer service. Your clients can begin by contacting us to help them solve issues with checkout and purchasing the tax system, calculating and billing subscriptions, downloads, and more.
