While most products are in consistent demand all year long, seasonal products are driven by weather, holidays, or other events that happen at certain points throughout the year. This fluctuation means that when you sell seasonal products in high demand, sales are successful. But how do they fare during the rest of the year?
Seasonal products can be highly lucrative for the businesses that sell them. In the United States, seasonal decorations alone is a $28.8 billion industry. As people prepare for holidays or special events, they’re out buying decorations for these occasions. But during the off-season slump, companies that sell seasonal products have to find creative ways to ensure their seasonal products have a year-round life cycle.
Keep reading to learn how to create a year-round seasonal product life cycle that generates sales all year long.
Key Takeaways
- A product typically goes through a five-stage life cycle.
- The seasonal product life cycle occurs much more quickly.
- Take advantage of the three ways to extend the seasonal product life cycle.
5 Stages of a Product Life Cycle
Every product (seasonal or otherwise) is like a living organism. As such, it evolves through several life cycle stages from conception to expiration. These stages provide opportunities for companies to learn more about the product and shape future marketing strategies, like pricing, product development, and product positioning.
Every product goes through five life cycle stages.
1. Development
The development stage includes everything from brainstorming and building to refining the final product. It involves extensive research and can last for several years.
This stage can be quite costly, so it isn’t uncommon for companies to create a product for launch and continue to make improvements throughout the product’s life cycle. This can shorten the development process and move to profit acquisition more quickly.
2. Introduction
The product has passed development and is ready to launch in your market. In the introduction stage, businesses build brand awareness via advertising (a great opportunity for publications to increase advertising revenue and grow page count) and marketing. Design is key as colors and fonts will help build brand identity and recognition. Excitement and advertising dollars will help to fuel this stage of the life cycle.
3. Growth
If your product has met your market need and has been well received by your customer base, it is now in the growth stage. The more you sell, the more profits you earn, and the more you can invest into brand awareness and boosting market share. Watch your product carefully during this stage to be sure its success continues to grow exponentially.
4. Maturity
The growth stage has revealed that your product is well established, brand awareness is strong, and sales are going well. Now it’s time to shift your goals from building to maintaining market share.
Competitors are aware of your product, so your focus during this stage is to diversify and differentiate. As needs evolve, consider adopting agile product management frameworks for continued success.
5. Decline
The market is constantly evolving, and, inevitably, your product will eventually see decreases in revenue. Consumer behavior changes, competition increases, and the product begins to decline. You might consider rebranding the product, giving it another use, or ending production altogether. Either way, product decline is natural and is the final stage of the product life cycle.
Create a Year-Round Seasonal Product Life Cycle
The life cycle of seasonal products still goes through the five stages mentioned above, but they happen much more quickly. During peak seasons, the need is more urgent, so more transactions take place in a shorter amount of time, hurrying the product through its life cycle. During off-season, the demand is less (some buyers stop purchasing altogether), and the product moves through its life cycle much more slowly.
To sell seasonal products year-round, you have to create a need for people to purchase these items during the off-season. Here are three ways to accomplish this.
1. Take Advantage of Year-Round Sales Opportunities
With careful planning, there are opportunities to sell seasonal items all year long. Here are some potential sales opportunities in each quarter:
- Q1: Not only are shoppers taking advantage of after-Christmas sales, but many people also use this time to return gifts they received during the holidays. Such returns could result in new purchases of higher-value items. This quarter lends itself to several holiday sales, like the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day.
- Q2: This quarter includes several holidays (Easter, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day) and sporting events (NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Finals). Pay attention to sports teams and their fan base and take advantage of opportunities to sell your seasonal products in a new way.
- Q3: Summer sales, Amazon Prime Day in June, and back-to-school rush in July and August provide several chances for seasonal product sales. Create ecommerce campaigns that target these shoppers and promote your seasonal products.
- Q4: This quarter is packed with more commercial holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) and, as such, provides plenty of opportunities for you to target consumers with your seasonal products.
For ecommerce tips on selling seasonal products on Amazon, watch the following video:
No matter what seasonal products you sell, there are opportunities throughout the year to sell your goods and generate revenue.
2. Promote New Features
As you work to sell your goods during each sales quarter of the year, consider refreshing your products with new features that consumers would find exciting and useful. Give people a new reason to explore your seasonal products. Perhaps your seasonal decorations come with reusable hooks for hanging, or your pumpkin decorating kit now includes a new tool. New features are a great way to catch the eye of your audience and give you a good reason to promote your products during the off-season.
3. Update Your Packaging
Your packaging is the first impression consumers have of your product. Here are a few ways you can change the look of your product package:
- Make it more user friendly (e.g., easy to open, recyclable)
- Use a more sustainable material (e.g., plant-based, compostable)
- Reduce the amount of waste it leaves behind
- Include images that show off-season ways to use your product
A little creative packaging can enable you to promote your seasonal product year-round.
BOOM Communications Group Helps You Sell Seasonal Products
BOOM Communications provides printing, marketing, advertising, and consulting services to help grow your business. We can work with you to create an effective strategy to help you realize your organization’s best version of itself.
Contact BOOM Communications today to learn more about creating a year-round seasonal product life cycle.