This is a guest post from Maureen Walsh of DCL Logistics. MyFBAPrep and DCL Logistics work together to provide strategic logistics services so brands can grow without sacrificing flexibility, quality, or customer satisfaction.

Building a cohesive product strategy involves analyzing market data and developing a product portfolio that maximizes customer experience and overall business performance. One aspect that brands often overlook, though, is seasonality.

When developing and launching product lines, you need to take into consideration seasonal fluctuations (for instance, launching a new bathing suit line at the beginning of fall is a straight shot to low sales). By selling products according to seasonal buying trends, you’ll attract more customers, generate greater revenue, and stay competitive in your niche.

Seasonality in eCommerce

Seasonality refers to the fluctuating patterns of consumer buying habits and corresponding order volume that occur at specific times of the year. They’re often tied to various events, holidays, and weather patterns. You must remain aware of buyer trends throughout the year to match demand appropriately.

Understanding and effectively managing seasonality is crucial to launch new products successfully, execute sales and marketing campaigns that convert, meet shopper expectations, and maintain overall customer satisfaction. To offer you assistance, we’ve broken down some common shopping patterns in each month.

January

New Year’s capitalizes on the psychology of resolutions, so most consumers focus on health and other self-improvement goals like saving money. As such, businesses can expect a general uptick in items like gym equipment, workout clothing, vitamins, supplements, and health and wellness products in general. Cold-weather gear and equipment for winter sports is also prevalent at the beginning of the year. Although many people purchase these types of products over the Christmas season, they see heavy usage during the coldest time of year, so their market demand remains strong after the holiday.

February

Valentine’s Day is the big tent-pole event in February and can bring high sales volumes for brands that offer romantic-themed goods. Popular items include flowers, confections like chocolates, wine and alcohol, and pajamas and loungewear.

Other holidays and observances in February include President’s day — a popular three-day weekend for short getaways — and the Super Bowl, which is much more about brand exposure than big sales volume (unless you’re in the business of TVs, specialty food items, or sports regalia of the playoff teams/cities).

Although not a major American holiday, Lunar New Year often occurs in this month, so eCommerce brands with international supply chains should expect slow downs in shipping and manufacturing in China.

March and April

These two months bring the hope of more sunshine and longer days. St. Patrick’s Day and Easter are the two biggest U.S. events at this time that generate seasonal sales. International Women’s Day, April Fool’s Day, and Earth Day are also commonly recognized holidays during this time and could serve as opportunities for well-designed sales.

During this time of year, consumers are focused on spring-themed products like rain gear and gardening tools, but they may also begin to hunt for the perfect summer sports gear like golf, tennis, or basketball equipment, baseball paraphernalia, and lawn games.

May

The second-biggest shopping event of the year for many product verticals is Mother’s Day, which falls in May. Other holidays that brands can build sales campaigns around include Teacher Appreciation Week and Memorial Day, which some see as a summer kick-off event. Expect summer gear like grills, patio furniture, pool toys, beach stuff, and bathing suits to be in hot demand.

June and July

Dads and grads are the people to shop for in June as Father’s Day approaches and the graduation season takes place. Meanwhile, Juneteenth and the Fourth of July are the major summer holidays that have consumers shopping for picnic items, BBQ goodies, and products to help entertain them outside.

Additionally, Amazon Prime Day often falls in one of these months and is a big driver of sales on both the Amazon platform and competitor sites. Many retailers have begun to offer sales during Amazon Prime Day to compete for consumer clicks.

August and September

The back-to-school theme dominates the fall sales cycle. It starts in late summer when students and parents shop for school supplies, clothes, laptops and headphones, causing a seasonal uptick in shopping demand.

Labor Day is also a big selling weekend to clear out summer items from eCommerce stock and make room for fall products like cold-weather clothes, home decor, and decorations for the fall and winter holidays.

October

Halloween and the Day of the Dead are the two big sales opportunities in late fall, with candy and sweets being the most popular commodities. For brands that want to make up revenue in Q4, this is also the time to launch holiday sales early.

November and December

Many brands see a major spike in order volume between Thanksgiving and Christmas, since these weeks are considered the busiest shopping time of the year in every vertical. The Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events are the peak of the season. However, there are many other holidays celebrated in December — think Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice, and Boxing Day — that make it the gift-giving height of the year.

8 Steps to set up a successful product launch

Every business and product will require different tactics to launch successfully. However, there are some core components that each share.

1) Market research

Before launching a new product, it’s imperative to understand and identify your target audience. Conduct a full competitive analysis that includes:

• The needs, preferences, and pain points of your target demographic
• What other eCommerce businesses offer
• Where and how you can differentiate your products

2) Product selection

Once you’ve sifted through your market research, select products that align with your target audience and have the potential to generate demand and profitability. Consider factors like product uniqueness, scalability, production feasibility, shipping costs, and seasonality.

3) Pricing strategy

Set competitive prices that reflect the value of your products and align with customer expectations. This is where you need to factor seasonal promotions into your overall product strategy. You may want to add discounts like bundling options to attract and retain customers while maximizing the average cart size.

4) Product development and sourcing

If you’re creating your products, establish a development plan and timeline. Factor in the major holidays we mentioned above to anticipate any slow downs or crunch times in manufacturing. Work with your supply chain partners to ensure all vendors are on the same page.

5) Marketing and promotion

Develop a marketing plan to generate awareness of your new products. Be sure your operations and marketing departments sync on timing and expectations. If your sales campaigns are based on seasonality, you’ll be marketing new products every few months, so the last thing you need is internal confusion or miscommunications.

6) Fulfillment and logistics

Decide how your products will be picked, packed, and shipped. Some brands choose to do this in-house, while others outsource to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider. If you opt for this route, it’s important to find a provider with services that meet your brand’s needs. Partnering with an experienced and reliable 3PL can provide benefits like lower long-term costs and more opportunities for growth and scalability.

Note that shipping plays a big role in customer satisfaction, so you need a carrier that can adequately support your brand needs and customer demands. Consider the size, weight, and volume of your packages, and look out for peak season surcharges, delays, and other factors that can affect your profit margins. Also, during the holiday rush, maintaining clear communication with your carrier is crucial.

7) User experience and customer support

Optimize your eCommerce site and sales platforms so you can start selling without issues bogging you down. Put time into every aspect of your customers’ experience, including the checkout process, package tracking, product guides or manuals, support for troubleshooting product use, and follow-up communication, to maximize retention.

8) Feedback, iteration, scaling, and expansion

Your work isn’t done once your product is online and available for purchase. Evaluate the success of your products continuously and identify opportunities for growth. Encourage customer feedback and use it to improve your products and services.

Stay prepared and cognizant of seasonal trends

Managing seasonality in eCommerce requires careful planning and preparation. Brands need to understand how to forecast accurately and source the right amount of inventory to meet consumer demand.

It’s important to leverage quality partners throughout your supply chain. They’ll help you streamline your order fulfillment process, find the best shipping services that accommodate both your product and your customers’ expectations, and open more opportunities to scale and grow your brand. By capitalizing on seasonality, you can improve your operational efficiency and generate more revenue during peak shopping periods.