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Master the art of seasonal selling

Ever wonder why some online sellers do so well at certain times? They've mastered the art of seasonal selling. For businesses and side hustlers who’ve got the knack, it can mean big spikes in sales.

In this guide, we’ll look at why seasonality matters, key times to sell and tips for success. Plus, how Post Office can help you deliver for your customers every time.

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An individual crafting a holiday wreath at a table covered with festive decorations

Which seasons should I sell in?

As you grow in confidence as an online seller, a key skill you’ll develop will be understanding seasonal trends and adapting what and how you sell to make the most of them.

By matching your product offering to certain times of year and offering enticing pricing, you can ride consumer demand to impressive results. So let’s explore the seasons and events that offer prime selling potential.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

We’ve all witnessed the flurry of sales activity around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. They’re the Friday after Thanksgiving in the USA and the Monday straight after. They’ve become synonymous with deals and discounts. And they’re a popular way to generate sales in the run up to Christmas.

If you’re planning to join in with offers of your own, think about what will be compelling for customers and how long to offer deals for. Consider offering free shipping or bundled discounts for larger orders. And make sure you optimise your website or listings on sites like eBay and Amazon Marketplace so your offers stand out.

Christmas

For many online sellers, Black Friday’s just the start of the Christmas shopping season. And it’s a gift of a season in terms of your sales potential. For 4-5 weeks, you can entice shoppers with holiday-themed promotions, products, gift sets and more.

Whet their appetites with seasonal gift guides on your website. Share deals and highlights from your festive catalogue in your marketing. Flag shipping deadlines to encourage shoppers to buy early. And consider special touches you can to deliveries, like Christmassy packaging or extra giveaways to tuck into each box.

January sales

The festive sales opportunities don’t end on Christmas Eve. There’s lots of potential in the new year too, with shoppers eager to bag a bargain in the sales or save on next Christmas by stocking up on clearance stock.

This time of year is a chance to clear excess inventory or simply offer savings on popular items. Just make sure they don’t miss out by spreading the word in your marketing.

Valentine’s Day

It’s only right to spread the love around Valentine’s Day. Which is why many retailers offer deals tailored to lovebirds of all age groups.

Highlight gifts from your regular or seasonal stock that are the perfect way to say, “you’re the one.” Create romantic bundles exclusive for the Valentine’s Day period. And highlight that you can send gifts by guaranteed delivery and express shipping services if any lovers have left it a little late.

Summer travel season

People tend to be in a good mood when they’re thinking about their holidays. Tap into their holiday spirit with products and prices that appeal to them, and watch good vibes come your way too.

Think about the products you can offer that are perfect people planning city breaks, summer getaways and other adventures. From lightweight and easy to carry items and accessories to portable gadgets, swimwear, mobile beauty goods, travel toiletries and everything in between.

There’s always a season for selling something

The possibilities don’t end there. Consider other special cultural or religious holidays and festivals, plus fun calendar highlights such as Halloween. And don’t forget all the ways your customers could say thanks to mum and dad on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

You may wish to target your products to the wedding, graduation, back to school, winter sports or even spring-cleaning season. Any time of year, it’s peak time for something.

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10 tips for making the most of seasonal selling

Once you’ve decided what you’re selling and when you want to give it a push, it’s time to get started. Keep these points in mind as you do.

  1. Plan your promotions: Create special offers, discounts, or bundles to incentivise customers to purchase during peak seasons
  2. Think ahead: Plan your inventory, pricing, promotions and marketing well in advance of the peak times when you’re promote them
  3. Stay flexible: Keep an eye on trends in your initial sales and the wider market. Listen to feedback from your customers. And be ready to adjust your strategy to suit changes in demand
  4. Optimise your listings: Use popular search keywords on your website. And use high-quality images to give your offers standout. Read our guides to getting found online, selling on eBay and selling on Amazon Marketplace
  5. Share on social: Be active on the social media platforms your target customers use. Post regularly about your products and offers, especially at peak times. Share behind the scenes content on your products and how they’re created. And interact with customers who engage with you
  6. Reach out by email: If you can make time for email marketing, it’s a great way to target customers who are already interested in what you do. Build lists of those who consent for you to use their email address. Then spread the news about your seasonal sales, exclusive offers and new products
  7. Watch your rivals: It’s always worth keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing, especially in peak seasons. Think about what will make you stand out from what they’re doing. And how can you market yourself more effectively than them?
  8. Network with other sellers: It’s not all cutthroat out there, of course. Joining online communities and networking with other online sellers can help you gather useful insights, avoid common pitfalls and quickly learn lessons about seasonal selling
  9. Deliver every time: That doesn’t just mean choosing reliable delivery services to get your items to your customers safely. It’s about delivering a great customer experience all round. Responding to queries or concerns promptly. Solving issues when they occur. And building loyalty that leads to repeat sales long term. Make sure you plan for how you’ll maintain those standards at your busiest times
  10. Keep improving: Once your seasonal sales period’s finished, evaluate how it went. Use your sales data, feedback from customers and suppliers, plus your own experiences to find ways to improve ready for your next peak period

Seasonal sending: We can help with that

Success in peak seasons relies on managing the fulfilment of your customers’ orders effectively

Whatever time of year you need to send items to your customers, Post Office is ready to help. Whether you’re sending just a few items occasionally or lots every day, we make it easy to find the right service at the right price. And we can save you time you can better spend on running your business or side hustle.

A choice of carriers

You can now choose the service that best suits your needs from a range of different carriers, including Royal Mail, Parcelforce Worldwide, DPD and Evri.

  • Evri: Evri provides great-value, convenient parcel delivery in the UK and to over 200 countries and territories. You can choose from a range of Evri services to buy via Parcels Online or in selected Post Office branches, including express and next-day options
  • Royal Mail: the UK’s first and oldest postal carrier still delivers to every address in the UK. Its affordable shipping options include standard, tracked and express delivery to UK and international destinations. And you can access their services in any of the UK’s 11,500 Post Office branches
  • Parcelforce Worldwide: also available in all our branches, Parcelforce Worldwide services offer express parcel delivery both in the UK and overseas. With a focus on fast and efficient delivery, its next-day and time delivery options could be ideal if what you’re sending is time sensitive
  • DPD: DPD handles over 300 million parcels per year. It offers competitive prices, reliable service and innovative tracking options. You can send items with DPD in the UK and internationally using Parcels Online. Its services to the UK mainland, Scottish Highlands and islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland are also available in selected branches

Read our article on choosing the right courier service

Time-saving services

We’ve also been working hard to develop convenient services that save you time and work with your busy schedule.

  • Drop & Go: Our fast-drop mails service streamlines postage. Before you visit a branch, you prep your items and fill out a manifest to tell us what you're sending. Then just drop them off and we’ll handle the rest – no weighing or labelling. We’ll process everything the same day and charge your account, which you can keep track of online. It's free to sign up. And it saves thousands of online sellers thousands of hours each year
  • Parcels Online: An easy way to buy postage online. Choose the service and price that best suits you from a range of carriers. Pay in advance. Then drop your items at a participating Post Office branch, whenever is convenient for you. Plus, send items you’ve sold on Amazon and eBay more easily by linking your account with our handy bulk shipping tool

Key takeaways

For small businesses or online sellers growing a side hustle alongside their main job, seasonal selling can be a game changer. Done well, it can help your sales soar.

  • Get strategic in how you sell. Aligning your products and pricing with important events and peak periods when shoppers’ desire to buy is high
  • Stay agile, adapt to changing trends and demands, and provide a consistently great customer service for loyalty year-round
  • Post Office can help with a range of courier services and expert advice to help you get items there the right way, for the right price

Get your items there with confidence

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Common questions about seasonal selling

  • To some extent, this will depend on what you sell and who you sell it to.

    There will probably be some obvious links between your offering and certain events or times in the calendar year. Equally, there other periods may be less relevant to your offering and customers. It’s important to target your efforts and energies to suit.

    A useful starting point is any sales trends you’ve already seen, and any observations you’ve made about customer preferences over time. Are certain products performing strongest at certain times of year? Might other, related products do likewise? The answers can help identify how much of what to sell when.

    You’ll find lots of insight and opinion online about selling at different peak times in the year. Industry reports and forecasts are another great source of information for both patterns you can tap into with your own sales efforts, and predictions for peaks in demand in future. A little research can go a long way.

  • Seasonal selling can deliver big increases in sales over a limited period, so it’s important to make the most of them. But it’s also important to not overlook the rest of the year.

    Even as you plan to tap into the shopping surge that comes with key holidays, festivals and other times of year, make sure your product range will suit customers throughout it too.

  • Planning for your busiest times of year is crucial to make sure you’re ready to deliver great service – and reap the benefits in sales.

    If you have sales date from previous periods, check which lines performed well and look for any patterns that might inform other lines, offers or periods you could try. Research trends in your market using the insights and forecasts available online. There’s a cost for many of these, but you may find articles that sum up their key findings and themes. All of it can help you prepare.

    To protect yourself from inventory risks and spread out your spending, consider stocking up on seasonal stock gradually.

  • If you’re only spending part of your time online selling, the selling part should be the main focus. So start with marketing methods that don’t cost the earth and leave you free to grow your sales.

    Creating a presence on social media channels your customers use is one important tactic. Schedule several posts over several days or weeks to save yourself time. Consider partnering with influencers to get your offerings seen by their wide audiences. And, if budget allows, pay a little to boost posts so they reach more people faster.

    You could also create an email newsletter to keep subscribers up to date with your latest range and deals. Set a regular frequency – weekly, bi-weekly, monthly – so recipients know when to expect it. Send ad hoc emails sparingly, to avoid bombarding inboxes and increase the chances those you do send will cut through.

  • Be ready for the times when things don’t go to plan. For instance, have a process for dealing with complaints promptly. And make sure you’ve set and clearly communicated a returns policy, so buyers know what to expect upfront.

Postal services

  • Drop & Go

    Drop your parcels off in branch, and we’ll do the rest. Open your prepaid account now for a hassle-free way to post your parcels via your prepaid Drop & Go account

  • Parcels Online

    Compare prices and services from DPD and Evri and pay for postage online. Then drop your parcels off at a participating Post Office branch

  • Parcels and letters

    Buy postage online or in branch, whichever works best for you

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