Cyber Weekend Benchmarking Data: 2023 Software and SaaS Holiday Spend Report
Sales numbers for Q4 typically outperform the rest of the year due to the end of year holidays and the associated shopping cycle But how much does that trend carry over into software and SaaS sales? Do they improve B2B business sales as well, or is it more just a B2C benefit?
acts as a retailer that acts as a record-keeper for more than 350 companies who use our platform every day to sell digital products globally. We've looked at aggregate sales statistics to provide you with insights on just how important Q4 can be for your software, SaaS and other digital goods commercial.
The latest holiday trends could have begun with Black Friday deals and spread into Cyber Monday however, the whole weekend is nowadays described as Cyber Weekend -- and sales throughout the quarter are generally strong as shoppers are getting ready for their many Christmas celebrations. Are you maximizing all potential sales in Q4 for your software company?
Below, we'll cover:
About Us Data
Where the Data Come From
The company supports more than 3500 businesses that help them sell digital products in over 200 nations and territories around the globe We've narrowed the information we've used in this report to keep relevant to software as well as SaaS businesses.
The information below is specific to where sales were made in the first place, and not to which location the businesses are situated.
For the global statistics We selected eight nations that include that is, the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia and China for a a broad view of worldwide sales.
When you are Using the data are from
The data below are pulled from 2018-2022 to give the most recent information while showing trends that are relatively constant over a 5-year timeframe without skewing the results unnecessarily.
Additionally, we use a seasonal index that highlights the sales of each quarter or month in comparison to the annual monthly or quarterly average.
US year-end trends in SaaS and Software Purchases
The first time we looked into U.S. software and SaaS sales data from 2018-2022 to glean insights into quarterly and monthly sales patterns over the past five years.
After calculating the monthly average then we compare every month with the average in order to calculate an approximate percentage. In the example above, if February has a percent of 90%, it signifies that it's 10 percent lower in sales compared to the average monthly. If, for example, November has a percent that is 111% this implies that the sales of November are 11% higher than the average monthly.
5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales per Month
The peak sales are during November when they are 11% more than average for the month however, the sales for all three months in Q4 are the highest throughout the year. October is particularly high, with sales at 4% higher and December averaging 8% more.
5YR US Average SaaS and Software Revenues by Quarter
Looking at the quarterly average the Q4 sales were higher by 8 percent -- high enough that each of the other three quarters are below the median.
World Year-end Trends SaaS and software purchases
Beyond and beyond the U.S., we combined data using the same variables from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China. This provides a more clear picture of how the sales of software in late-year may change across the globe.
The bump actually grows larger.
5YR Average Global SaaS and Software sales by Month
Global sales reached a yearly high of 16% in November compared to the month-to-month average. As in above U.S. data above, October and December round out with the top quarter of the year with respective 4% and 7% growth.
5YR average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter
From a quarterly perspective, Q4 is 9% more than the quarter's average and, yet again, so high as to push the remaining three quarters lower than the median.
Global Q4 quarter-end sales were only 1percent higher than the sales from the U.S. for the same quarter however, the November month showed a jump by 16% when compared with the U.S.'s 11% jump in the same month -which suggests that November offers a tremendous opportunity for sales all over the world.
5YR average SaaS and Software Sales by Month for each country
For more detail on how each month breaks out by country we analyzed the monthly data for the 8 countries that we included in our global review. This is what monthly sales of software changes look like using five years of data from those countries: the United States (US), Canada (CA), Germany (DE), Great Britain (GB), India (IN), Brazil (BR), Australia (AU), and China (CN).
Particularly large lifts in countries like China and Germany during November indicate an enormous potential for SaaS and software companies to earn a profit during Q4, especially if you're trying to target those markets as part of a global expansion strategy.
In addition, although U.S. data suggest a lower increase of just 11% for November, keep in mind the fact that North America accounts for a huge huge portion of the world's software and SaaS sales. One study reporting that 43% of the 2022 worldwide software revenues that is attributed in North America, and another reporting a share of approximately 57.5 percent of 2020 worldwide SaaS market which is due to NA. So, a increase of 11% in November in the U.S. could mean a increase in revenue when the U.S. is a part of the larger pie.
B2C vs. B2B
The majority of businesses that sell software internationally provide the B2C and B2B markets. However, no matter if your SaaS business focuses only on one or both is important to keep track of how the Q4 sales patterns differ across the two segments. The information gathered can assist you in determining how to focus marketing and sales efforts in these categories, specifically if one segment offers a better opportunity.
Data gathered from the study show similar trends across the year. The fourth quarter was the strongest quarter for both of these segments.
B2C sales saw an average rise by 11% over the quarterly average and is perhaps not surprising during a time of year known for promoting consumerism -"consumer "consumer" is the wording.
But don't sleep on the B2B market in Q4. Even though B2B sales appear marginally more stable over the course of the year in comparison to B2C revenue, a 5 percentage increase in the fourth quarter is notable in a spending-driven segment that is still taking benefit of deals at the end of the year regardless of whether a buyer buys either for themselves or their business. Credit cards for corporate use are of course still wielded by a lot of people, buyers of software, and who may be looking for a bargain particularly if strict departmental budgets play a role in the purchase decision.
Additionally, some B2B shoppers could be looking to make use of more budgetary funds before the year's end in order to make sure their budgets are not cut the following year. Or, they may be pushing their departments or teams to be equipped with the right tools prior to the start of the year. Specific business situations like these can result in increased sales for B2B in Q4 despite the many delays in work due to the holiday season.
Cyber Weekend Strategies for SaaS and Software Companies
Wondering about the best ways to take advantage of that Q4 bump? No matter if you're targeting B2B or B2C shoppers Here are some strategic strategies for boosting sales of software and SaaS sales prior to the close this year.
Give Partners Custom Coupon Discount Codes
In addition, you'll have the ability to more accurately track how this sales promotion performed compared to other coupon codes.
Do You Not Have Any Partners To Give Special Coupons to? Locate Some!
If you're yet to take advantage of promotional partnerships, the holiday season can bring new contacts. Search for SaaS and software companies with products that complements yours. (For instance, if for example you make a database tool check out companies that produce front-end software.)
Besides custom coupon codes, provide the opportunity to trade Cyber Weekend promotions to each audience in the form of emails, web banners, social media mentions, or other preferred methods that will help both companies improve sales for the final quarter of the year.
Send Your Own Prospects Email
If you decide not to pursue partnership promotions -- or if that's a larger project you'd need more time to plan for -- emailing your existing prospect list is a relatively straightforward and simple method to carry out.
Potential buyers can't benefit from offers they don't even know about So don't depend solely on the banner on your site to grab the attention of prospective purchasers when they go to your site. Inspire them to your website with smart email messages about upcoming, current, and extended offers to draw the attention of those who are.
Contact Your Current Customers
As with prospects, customers can't be upsold if they don't know about holiday promotions, either.
Here are a handful possibilities for profit you could target within your existing user base:
- Add-ons for upselling. Review user statistics for the customers who utilize your product most often or the most general, because they may be most likely to want even more features and usability.
- Increase subscriptions by offering greater options. Just like with downloads, if you can pinpoint your product's power customers, you can focus your efforts on those most likely to want more from the product.
- convert freemium customers into paid subscriptions with an irresistible offer. If the freemium model is an integral element of your company's model, a successful sales during the holiday season could serve as a lever to make users love what they can access to but know they could really use many more.
- upsells from individual subscriptions to team subscriptions, or from team to enterprise subscriptions. It might not be straightforward to determine which users are also the evangelists for the product within their respective companies, but if you possess user data that is contextual (such like that which could be collected by your internal salesforce) the fourth quarter of 2018 could be the perfect time to focus on companies where you have some user penetration but an opportunity to acquire many more.
- Cross-sell into entirely new items. If your model of business comprises a variety of standalone products, there's an enormous opportunity to target the user customers of one with promotions to buy another or reverse. The greater number of products you own and the greater the segmentation that you are able to do as well as the better opportunities you have.
- Switch users from month-to-year subscriptions. The English saying "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" often applies in business because the revenue that is available to your company today could be more valuable than slightly more revenue doled out slowly throughout the next year. Take advantage of buyers being in a shopping mindset at the end of Q4: tempt customers with an appealing bargain to cut costs for the future by switching their monthly subscription to a annual one.
Leverage Social Media
Social media sites can be a great place to celebrate occasions, which is why sharing holiday-themed posts from your business can work well.
Numerous social media platforms provide advertising features that allow you to focus on users according to geography or by interests. You should consider taking advantage of the possibility to display regional holiday advertisements in applicable regions, or the ability to show ads to users who may have expressed interests in the holiday on the platform.
In contrast, organic posts on social media -- which can often be seen by all users who follow you regardless of geography -- can also be a good method of spreading sales, without limit the number of views you can get to a specific portion. Just keep in mind that if your fans or audience are very diverse, your holiday-specific organic posts should be too.
Offer More Aggressive discounts in the Target Geos
If you are experiencing greater profits in one particular area or simply want to get into a different market, then promoting than usual discounts in particular regions will help you take advantage of Cyber Weekend sales increases.
For implementation, you can use GeoIP-based features on your website to advertise regional discounts.
Then use 's Store Builder Library to automate the application of these code during checkout. This can boost your conversion rates.
localize Holiday Promotions
While Cyber Weekend has become popular around the world but there are local holidays that may be more profitable in the specific location or country you're looking to target. Events such as Boxing Day can rival more U.S.-centric events (such like Black Friday and Cyber Monday) for countries like those in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Make sure you tailor your Christmas season promotions by geography so you won't miss huge opportunities in the key regions.
How Can Help
Global Payments: Localized Languages, Currencies and Payment Methods
is aware that just making your product accessible to more people doesn't suffice. It must be effortless for consumers to decide whether to buy.
Global Tax Management We don't have to worry about Taxes
Consumer Support Management We'd love to hear from you!
One of the other key tasks the the management of customer service. Your clients can begin by contacting us to assist them with issues with checkout and purchasing tax, as well as billing, subscriptions, downloads, and many more.
