Introduction
If your company has a product that can be launched any time of year, it’s essential to understand how the seasons affect consumer behaviour. Seasonality—the cyclical nature of consumer purchasing and usage patterns—is critical to any business’s marketing strategy.
Seasonality is a factor that can be used to your advantage when launching a new product. In this article, we’ll discuss seasonal products, what seasonality is, and how you can use it to help you with your next launch.
Seasonal products show sales spikes during certain times of the year. These spikes occur because of predictable demand peaks during the seasons in which they are typically used or sold. For example, ice cream sales spike during summer, while skiing equipment sales spike during winter. Seasonality is crucial because it helps marketers decide on their marketing strategy (whether they should advertise more heavily or less heavily), production capacity (how much inventory they need on hand at any given time), and distribution capacity (how many stores should carry their product). For example: if an ice cream company knows there will be high demand for their development in July but not so much in November or December, then perhaps they would want only one production line running during those months instead of two lines running all year round; or maybe only 20% of their stores would carry the product during those months instead of all 100%.
Seasonality research
Seasonality research is crucial for new product launches. The best way to conduct seasonality research is by looking at historical data from similar products or comparable categories and subcategories.
For example, if you’re launching a new brand of soft drinks, it would be wise to look at your competitors’ sales figures for the past year or two – how did they perform during the summer months? How about winter? Is there a season when their product sales were higher than others? If so, why might this be? For example, is it because they’re more likely to spend more money on soda in the springtime because of all those lovely sunny days (and therefore better weather), or is it because they tend not to drink soda when temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit)?
Summer product launch
Summer is a great time to launch a product because it’s the fun, entertainment, and happiness season. Therefore, this is the ideal time for products that are easy to use and don’t require much effort on the user’s part. It’s also the best season to launch products that easily lend themselves to sharing with friends—think sunglasses or sunscreen!
Summer launches are perfect if you have a product that fits into one of these three categories:
- The product is easy-to-use and makes people happy without requiring much effort on their part (think: water bottles)
- The product can be shared easily (stickers)
Winter product launch
Winter product launch is more of a seasonal approach to the new product launch. Winter products are typically heavy and warm, so that they can be sold in summer and winter. However, their demand will be different depending on the time of year. For example, Christmas decorations are mostly sold during November and December; however, you can also sell them throughout the year because people need them yearly (e.g., tree ornaments).
Autumn product launch
Autumn is the best time to launch a new product, particularly if you want to make a splash in the holidays.
The autumn season is prime time for gift giving, as people want to buy presents for others and themselves. With this in mind, you should launch your product at this time of year to benefit from the heightened demand that comes with holiday shopping and gifting.
Spring product launch
Spring is the time of year when people are starting to think about their health and fitness. It’s also an excellent time to launch a new fitness product.
The spring season is also when we start thinking about our finances, so it makes sense that you want to launch a financial product too! In general, this season is excellent for launching products that help us improve ourselves or our lives in some way—and don’t forget: you’ll have the full attention of your audience for two months before summer hits!
No matter what time of year, there’s a way to use seasonality to your advantage.
Seasonality is a great way to plan your product launch. If you’re launching in winter, for example, you can use the seasonality of the time as a strength and create an experience that evokes feelings of comfort and warmth.
But it’s not just about planning around the time of year. If you’re planning a launch at any time during the year, consider what else is happening in society or culture. For example: if there’s a big event nearby that might draw people away from their routine (like a festival), then make sure you have something unique planned for those who come out!
Bottom-Line
By taking the time to research and understand your product’s seasonality, you can launch at just the right time. This will give you an edge in a competitive market and ensure that consumers are excited about what they see on store shelves. Remember: no matter what time of year it is, there’s a way to use seasonality to your advantage!
Who am I?
I am Dotun Adeoye, a Business Growth Strategist & Author of the 5 Pillars of Business Growth.
I’ve built up my experience via serial entrepreneurship, consulting leadership roles in business growth, business development and product innovation in large companies worldwide in the last 29 years.
Today, I consult with large businesses on how to sustainably grow their businesses, sustain infinite growth, ensure business continuity and achieve a legacy.
Hire Dotun Adeoye to Speak Virtually or In – Person at your company’s event to cover this or other topics. You can also get in touch via +44 203 097 1718
