5 ways to survive seasonal slumps in online sales

The ecommerce landscape is heavily influenced by the calendar year, with certain dates and times of the year playing a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior and sales trends. Recognizing these key periods—holidays like Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, back-to-school, and Christmas—is critical for online retailers looking to optimize their marketing strategies and inventory management.

According to recent data, online spending during the 2023 holiday season increased 6.3% year-over-year, while in-store spending only increased 2.2%. These periods often see a surge in consumer spending, making them excellent opportunities for e-commerce businesses to increase sales and acquire new customers.

As CEO of Flowwow, a global gift marketplace, I know firsthand the challenges of seasonality. While our sales naturally peak around the holidays, we have developed strategies to smooth out these fluctuations and ensure year-round growth.

Here I’ll share five key tactics that will help your brand overcome seasonality and achieve sustainable growth.

1. Focus on product diversification

Expand your product or service offerings to meet different annual needs. Amazon started as an online bookstore and has grown into a retail giant that offers everything from electronics and groceries to clothing and furniture. In 2023, Amazon's consolidated net sales were $575 billion.

During the pandemic, Flowwow transformed from a flower marketplace into a comprehensive gift platform with local brands, resulting in a 77% year-on-year increase in orders. Originally focused on B2B e-commerce, the company expanded its horizons with consumer-facing platforms such as Taobao and Tmall and ventured into international markets with AliExpress and cloud services via Alibaba Cloud. This diversification has led to impressive growth, with Alibaba's revenue increasing by an astonishing 1692.56% from 2014 to 2024.

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2. Harness the power of diverse markets

Companies can achieve a smoother flow of sales by strategically targeting different markets with different peak seasons. For example, Flowwow has successfully capitalized on different cultural celebrations across its 30+ markets. A campaign featuring a Ramadan-themed card game resonated with consumers in the United Arab Emirates and received over 10 million media mentions. Mother's Day campaigns in Spain also reached huge audiences and highlighted the importance of cultural relevance.

Another compelling example is fashion retailer ASOS. ASOS has optimized its inventory and marketing strategies by recognizing seasonal fluctuations in fashion preferences across regions. For example, the company provides an extensive selection of winter clothing for markets in the Southern Hemisphere, while also catering to summer fashion trends in the Northern Hemisphere.

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3. Customer loyalty through commitment

Many larger companies invest part of their marketing budget in “customer satisfaction,” which proves to be efficient: consumers with high emotional attachment choose the brand 82% of the time. Positive experiences are the cornerstone of brand loyalty. Companies understand this and therefore strive to encourage closer interaction with their customers.

In 2023, Amazon ranks second on the list of brand loyalty. The service's benefits, such as free two-day shipping, video streaming, and Prime Day sales, keep customers coming back. And Amazon is constantly striving to increase customer satisfaction by improving its delivery and order fulfillment systems and offering new goods.

Focus on a user-friendly interface, attractive offers, empathetic customer support and quality service and watch your brand satisfaction rating rise and brand affinity increase. Increasing customer loyalty by just 5% can lead to an astonishing 25-95% increase in profitability.

Related: 5 Ways to Build Highly Valuable Brand Loyalty

4. Plan peak days in advance

Peak periods provide growth opportunities, but can also strain resources. Analytics and forecasting are critical to balance expenses throughout the year. We base our expenses on the previous standard month's revenue and allocate a portion for marketing and performance-based hiring.

Peak periods can overload platforms. While we prepare by analyzing load, running tests, and expanding capacity, unexpected bottlenecks can arise. For example, a partner payment processor might not be prepared for the rush. Customer support is critical during these times. Our large customer support and online reputation management departments handle feedback. When negativity increases, other teams, especially marketing, are brought in to address the concerns. This is how we fulfilled three million orders in 2023 with a 97% customer satisfaction rate.

5. Create your own seasonality

Make your off-season an advantage! For example, May-June is traditionally a quiet time for gifts. Flowwow decided to experiment with launching a special campaign called Peonymania and it was successful. We were inspired by a seasonal flower – the peony – and focused on its beauty and limited availability (FOMO effect). Thorough preparations resulted in a boom of a peony-inspired collection – over 2,020,800 peonies were purchased through Flowwow, with a record-breaking 4,309 sellers worldwide participating in Peonymania.

While seasonality can present challenges, it also presents exciting growth opportunities. By diversifying products, entering different markets, fostering customer loyalty, strategically planning for peak seasons, and even creating their own seasonal events, companies can overcome these fluctuations and achieve sustained success.