Find application on seasonal sites. Seasonal factor in trade: how to effectively sell seasonal goods

Seasonal goods are those goods that are intended for use during a certain season of the year (spring, autumn, summer or winter). Most often, such goods include clothing or footwear produced for certain climatic conditions (winter boots, fur products, sandals, etc.).

list of seasonal goods

Currently, any list of seasonal goods is not approved by current legislation; therefore, to determine the seasonality of a product, one should first of all be guided by information about the product itself.

season start date

The specific dates for the onset of a certain season are determined by the legislation of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, for example, for the Moscow region the following start dates for the seasons are established:

warranty period for seasonal goods

Seasonal goods have their own characteristics when calculating the warranty period, so the warranty period for such goods begins to run not from the moment of their sale, but from the start date of a certain season, and if purchased during the relevant season, the warranty begins to run from the date of purchase.

if Seasonal items are purchased remotely

If a seasonal product is purchased remotely, the warranty period for it begins to run from the moment the season begins, and if it is ordered during the season, from the day the product is delivered to the buyer.

Today, in conditions of fierce competition, everyone relies only on themselves. Some people rely on seasonal business in order to take advantage of short-term increases in consumer activity and get maximum profit. And for some, on the contrary, due to the seasonality factor, significant problems arise with a drop in sales volumes and the consequences of these declines.

What's happening?

Let's first figure out whether these are really seasonal fluctuations, or whether the drop in sales volumes is not related to seasonality and an adjustment to the business strategy itself is required. To do this, it is necessary to analyze the company’s sales over the past few years (experts believe that for at least three years). If during a given time the figures for each year increase by 20% or more, and fluctuations (downs and downs) are characteristic only for certain periods (coinciding annually), we can talk about seasonality in sales. Of course, a decrease in purchasing activity during certain periods of the year is familiar to every enterprise. Oddly enough, sales volumes of even everyday goods are uneven in different months. Thus, in the summer, when large cities are empty, sales of those goods and services that are in high demand throughout the year (for example, baked goods, personal care products, hairdressing services, etc.) drop by 10–15%.

However, fluctuations within 10–20% of the average monthly sales volume are sometimes unnoticeable and do not cause significant harm to the business. Especially provided that the company successfully carries out its activities and the sales volume at the end of the year is steadily increasing. Such fluctuations are considered moderately seasonal and do not require serious intervention, although they should not be ignored when planning. But what about those companies whose sales volumes may fall by 30% or more in certain months? For example, the sales schedule for 2006–2008 for a company selling shoe cosmetics and accessories (creams, paints, impregnations, shoe deodorants, brushes and sponges, insoles, laces, etc.) is as follows (Fig. 1).

As can be seen from the graph, the activity of this company is of a pronounced seasonal nature: the peak of sales, which occurs in October-December, and a sharp drop to almost zero (April-August) are clearly distinguishable. Such fluctuations are repeated over the course of three years in approximately the same months, which is explained by the seasonality of the business. And this phenomenon is easily explained, since the so-called weather factors are important for the sales of shoe cosmetics. Shoes need to be cleaned all year round, but if in the summer you may not remember about this, then with the onset of the rainy season, slush and dirt, the question of the need to care for shoes is no longer raised. Of course, the company’s assortment also includes products for which demand is stable throughout the year. For example, insoles, laces, shoe horns and sponges are in demand all year round. But their sales account for approximately 15% of the total volume in monetary terms, which does not bring sufficient profit during a period of sharp decline in sales. In addition to weather factors, there are many other reasons that cause seasonal fluctuations in demand. Let's look into this problem.

Who is guilty?

Seasons and weather events

Fluctuations in demand depending on the time of year are primarily associated with changes in weather and climatic conditions. In the example we looked at above, the company offers on the market a product (shoe cosmetics) that is in demand mainly during the cold season. Thus, with the beginning of autumn, footwear and clothing of the autumn-winter range, leather goods, heaters, cold medicines, etc. are actively sold out. In spring, for example, the demand for vitamins, construction equipment, country equipment, services of beauty salons, restaurants and cafes and etc.

Holidays (secular and religious) and other dates

Table 1 provides some examples of goods and services that are in demand on certain holidays and dates.

Habits, stereotypes

This group of factors includes such a phenomenon in the real estate market as an increase in demand for suburban real estate (dacha plots) in spring and summer and, accordingly, a decrease in autumn and winter. Similar trends can be seen in the automotive market (especially in the used car market). This is explained by the fact that car enthusiasts prefer to buy cars at the beginning of the summer season and before the holiday season. At the same time, the winter period is considered unfavorable for car operation, as there are many negative factors (dirt, snow, salt, ice, increased number of accidents).

Business activity

During the year there are several periods of decline in business activity. For example, the second half of January, when such a decline is a consequence of the long New Year holidays. Many note a drop in sales volumes of certain groups of goods during the May holidays, which is associated with the abundance of weekends, country holidays, and the beginning of the summer season. A decrease in sales volumes is also typical for the summer months, when the vacation period begins. Seasonality in sales has been identified, the reasons and factors influencing the growth and decline of sales volumes have been analyzed, and all that remains is to decide how to proceed.

Adjust or use for your own purposes?

It is believed that seasonal fluctuations in sales volumes almost always have a negative impact on the company's activities. Is it so? Let's look at all the pros and cons of such phenomena.

Risk of freezing working capital

If annual sales volumes are significantly dependent on external factors (for example, weather), you may encounter problems even at a time when consumer demand is expected to grow at its peak. Thus, companies engaged in the production of insect repellents (repellents and insecticides) produce products that are in uneven demand throughout the year. The maximum demand for these products is observed in the summer. In the previous two years, these companies faced certain problems due to weather events. Due to the abnormally warm and wet winter of 2006–2007, a huge number of mosquitoes and all kinds of midges appeared in the summer, which had a beneficial effect on sales volumes. The winter of 2007–2008 was also warm, and many companies included this factor in their production volumes when planning. But in February, for one week there were frosts down to -25°C with almost complete absence of snow, which resulted in the death of almost all mosquito larvae and midges. For this reason, in the summer of 2008 there were practically no mosquitoes, and a huge amount of unsold products remained in warehouses.

Increase in production costs due to constant rising costs

For example, due to uneven demand for goods throughout the year, especially when fluctuations reach 100%, many companies face the problem of a shortage of warehouse and office space during periods of increased demand. In such cases, there is a need to find additional square meters. It is not always possible to find free space in a convenient location, and this entails additional transportation costs and the cost of hiring additional employees. At the same time, if a company has enough warehouse and office space during the period of maximum consumer rush, then during a drop in sales volumes many of them may remain idle, which also increases the company’s costs. In addition, the cost of products that are in great demand only in certain months is superimposed on the costs of maintaining employees throughout the year!

Turnover and shortage of qualified employees

In order to reduce costs, managers of many seasonal enterprises either lay off some employees during the quiet period, or initially hire workers only for the season, or reduce the level of wages. But by the beginning of the season of growth in consumer demand, companies often have problems recruiting qualified personnel.

Maximum profit in minimum time

Thanks to high profitability, during a short seasonal surge in consumer activity, you can earn so much that it compensates for the period of inactivity.

Carrying out repair work, re-equipping production, setting up equipment

If periods of seasonal declines in sales do not last long, then, in order not to stop or disrupt the company’s activities during the “high” season, managers use this time to carry out planned repairs, moves, put equipment in order, improve and re-equip production, etc. .

Development and launch of new products

It is convenient to use the time of decline in consumer activity to develop and launch new products, which will subsequently replenish the company’s product range and help increase sales volumes.

Personnel training, preparation for work during the season

Some enterprises, during a decline in consumer demand, pay great attention to staff development issues in order to prepare people for high-quality work during a period of increasing sales volumes. So, these are just some of the phenomena associated with business seasonality and the consequences caused by it. Let's still think about what can be done.

What to do about it?

There are two ways to deal with seasonal fluctuations in sales volumes.
1. Sales promotion.
2. Minimizing costs.

Let's look at each of them in detail.

How to stimulate sales

Discounts and sales

This method of stimulating consumer demand is quite simple to use and is used everywhere as one of the main and most accessible. It does not require special training or investment of additional funds, but is not always equally effective for wholesale and retail clients.

Using seasonal odds

This method is a kind of discount. It consists in the fact that the price of a product remains unchanged throughout the year, but when purchasing a product or service in certain months, an increasing or decreasing factor is applied. Thus, during a period of sales decline, consumers are stimulated by more favorable conditions, and thanks to various coefficients, the overall profit of the enterprise is adjusted throughout the year (downturns are compensated by an increasing coefficient, and decreasing coefficients stimulate an increase in sales when demand falls). This method is used when selling airtime on TV channels and radio stations, from air and rail carriers, on the Internet, etc. For example, on the ORT (First) TV channel, seasonal coefficients were used (see Table 2).

Stock

We are not talking about interesting advertising events, sweepstakes and other marketing ploys. This method is similar to the first, but requires more careful preparation. One of the options for promotions is the formation of special sets of your products (or package of services), which include several items of goods. This set usually includes out-of-season or unpopular products (one or more). At the same time, a more favorable price is formed for the set - compared to what the consumer would have to pay for all the goods separately. Such promotions are often practiced by sellers of household chemicals and “white” cosmetics.

The right advertising campaign

This method includes a well-developed advertising strategy for the year. Of course, it requires additional costs (advertising budget) and proper management of allocated funds. When distributing the advertising budget, it is advisable to adhere to the following scheme (see Fig. 2). The essence of this method is not only to stimulate sales of a particular product (service) and attract attention to it, but also to show new ways of using it and create a need for it. For example, some manufacturers of household chemicals produce stain removers, the maximum demand for which is during the warm season. In order to increase sales in the cold months, advertising for this product is based on the following: either you save money, but risk your time (since after washing, stains may appear on things that you did not notice), or use our stain remover with each wash and not worry about stains (there may not be any!), and spend the saved time on yourself or your family.

Favorable terms of purchase

This method differs from discounts and promotions in that products are sold at their regular price, but customers are offered additional favorable conditions. For example, deferred payments, free delivery of goods, etc. can be a bonus.

Creating artificial scarcity

The method is effective, but risky. It is found in markets where there is little competition or the area is monopolized.

In practice, this method looks like this: At the end of the period of sales decline, after the first small deliveries of goods (when what is left after the seasonal peak is mostly sold out), the enterprise closes production due to re-equipment or for some other reason. A period of rising demand for the products of this enterprise begins. Since this is just the beginning, the batches are usually small and there is enough stock left for almost all regular customers. Then demand increases, but there is no longer enough goods, and new supplies are expected only after some time. Some people have the opportunity to wait, while others begin to look for alternatives, but they are not always available. Thus, a queue of customers forms, and when the product does appear (even at a higher price), there is a real rush as many try to stock up for future use.

A similar situation arose in St. Petersburg at the end of 2008 with vitamin D. In the fall, pediatricians prescribe medications containing this vitamin to all babies from the first month of life, since if it is deficient, a child can develop a serious disease such as rickets. By December, stocks of these drugs in pharmacy chains had dried up. Panic set in, parents were ready to go to the opposite end of the city for vitamin D. In mid-January, preparations containing vitamin D began to arrive in the pharmacy chain, but at a new price, exceeding the old one by more than 100%. However, fearing a repetition of a similar situation, people buy these drugs in several packages, even at such a high price.

The method of creating artificial shortages does not only work with retail customers. For example, in 2006, a large Russian enterprise producing high- and low-density polyethylene, polystyrene, dyes and other industrial raw materials was closed for re-equipment (according to management, after opening the company was supposed to increase production capacity several times). It was planned to launch the plant by the beginning of the active sales season, but for some reason this deadline was delayed by several months. The plant produced raw materials for other industries, and, in order not to take risks, the supply departments began to look for alternative suppliers. But in order to change the supplier, you must at least get samples from another manufacturer and try them out; Only after this can you buy a batch of raw materials. Other suppliers, who did not expect the sharp increase in demand, could not cope with the emerging needs. Prices began to rise and the struggle for supplies began. As a result, for the long-awaited opening of the plant, everyone was ready to buy raw materials in new volumes (to create a reserve for the next season) and at a new - increased - price.

Assortment adjustment

Still, the most effective method of dealing with seasonal fluctuations is to adjust the assortment, which can be done in several ways. The first is that new products are constantly being introduced into the product line, due to which the overall sales volume is growing. Another way is to include in the product portfolio products for which maximum demand will occur during the period of greatest decline in sales of other products. For example, almost all companies in the world that sell shoe cosmetics and accessories offer insect repellents for the summer season. And this is easily explained: they have opposite seasons of maximum consumer demand. However, it is most effective to adjust the assortment so that the product portfolio includes categories of goods (services) with opposite seasonality and without pronounced factors influencing sales.

Refocusing on a different target audience

If it is not possible to change the offered assortment, the method of reorientation to another target audience is often used. This method is used by stationery sellers. Before the start of the school year, they focus on school goods (meaning a range for pupils and students), and the rest of the time - on supplying offices. This method is also common in the restaurant and hotel business. After the end of the tourist season, hotels actively promote services for organizing conferences and other events (which involves the provision of special premises, catering, accommodation of participants, etc.). During the warm season, many restaurants try to organize additional outdoor areas in order to attract new customers and thus compensate for the drop in sales at stationary areas. Unfortunately, sales promotion measures almost always require additional investment, so they are not available to all companies. But there is another way to combat seasonal fluctuations - minimizing expenses during periods of falling consumer demand.

How to minimize costs

Organization of seasonal work schedule

This issue can be solved in two ways: either hire employees for the season, or send employees on vacation strictly during the seasonal decline in sales. In the first case, there is a risk of a shortage of qualified specialists during the season. The seasonal work schedule at one leather goods enterprise is organized in an interesting way. The products of this company are sold unevenly throughout the year, but the fluctuations do not last long (this was achieved due to the correct assortment policy). Thus, the enterprise has a certain vacation schedule: during the period of maximum demand for products, the sales department works, and production goes on vacation en masse, while during the maximum drop in demand, the sales department goes on vacation (only the required minimum of employees remains), and production is active fills warehouses with new products for the next seasonal surge.

Reorientation of business while maintaining overall focus

Many companies that install windows for the population during the season, during periods of reduced demand, reorient themselves to glazing houses during construction. Another example: in the summer, when the demand for ski equipment is practically zero, companies involved in this build ski resorts.

Reducing the number of personnel or salary levels

Contract manufacturing

In order to avoid rising costs due to downtime of equipment and premises during seasonal drops in demand, you can organize contract manufacturing at your own facilities. Thus, an organization engaged in the production and sale of natural extracts during the cold season, prepared raw materials during the warm season, but the production facilities were idle. In order to reduce costs, the company managed to conclude a contract for the use of its equipment for the production of certain types of household chemicals (since the customer company did not have enough of its own capacity).

Reduce advertising costs to a minimum!

For example, you can leave only maintaining the website and providing clients with printed advertising materials upon request. Of course, there are many ways to influence the level of sales during seasonal fluctuations, but when choosing them, it is necessary to take into account who these measures will be aimed at: what is suitable for wholesale counterparties may not be effective for retail consumers. Seasonal sales declines are present in almost all industries. The most effective method of dealing with them is to competently maneuver between incentive measures and cost reduction. Each enterprise, based on its own experience over several years, develops its own algorithm of actions that allows it to significantly smooth out seasonal fluctuations and achieve maximum profitability.

Expert opinion

Yulia Novoselskaya, Head of Marketing Department, International Academy of Quality and Marketing

Seasonality is typical for many products. In this case, it is important whether the product really has a pronounced seasonal nature, or whether the demand for it can be maintained at the required level even during a recession.

Several years ago, while working at a parachute factory, we encountered a seasonality factor in the production of parachute systems for recreation on the water. Parasails were in demand only in spring and the first months of summer. In conditions of high variable costs and rapid obsolescence, it was impractical to produce goods for storage. Only the seasonal reduction in production volumes seemed justified. However, a decision was made to enter new markets to neutralize the seasonality factor caused by weather conditions. After conducting marketing research and a set of preparatory measures, sales of parasails began in the UAE and on the Mediterranean coast. This decision turned out to be correct, because it allowed not only to level out seasonality, but also to improve the product, improving its quality characteristics. I believe that you should not immediately draw disappointing conclusions and focus only on minimizing costs during the seasonal decline in sales; sometimes you can argue with nature! And the experience of conducting sales promotion activities during a recession has shown that the launch of such programs should be treated with caution, carefully calculating all possible revenues and costs. When determining the effectiveness of sales promotion activities, it is important to avoid mistakes.

It often happens that sales in an online store are influenced by seasonal factors. Seasonality of sales is significant fluctuations in demand that are associated with the time of year, holidays or weather conditions. To determine seasonal fluctuations in demand, you can draw up a sales schedule for 2-3 years. As a rule, seasonal fluctuations are considered to be changes in the demand for goods of 20% or more in a certain period of time.

You might think that for online stores with a wide range of products, this does not create any difficulties. Thus, Taobao intermediaries usually sell a huge range of goods from light bulbs to auto parts. It seems that seasonality will not affect business in any way. However, it needs to be monitored. At least in order to correctly build an offer for online store buyers.

Experienced online stores that track sales know that Christmas tree decorations are not in demand in the summer, and goods for the garden and dacha are not sold in late autumn. With the correct structure of the product offering, even a highly specialized store during the season can make the annual revenue of an ordinary wide-profile online store.

To identify seasonal fluctuations in demand, long-term observations and their analysis are needed. Only an online store that has been operating on the market for a long time can afford this. But novice businessmen do not have their own information. Therefore, you can use various studies, which are abundant on the Internet. They will help you build a business strategy taking into account all seasonal fluctuations.

What affects the seasonality of goods? Firstly, the time of year and weather conditions. It is clear that in the summer, beachwear, sunglasses, goods for active recreation, as well as household goods and building materials are in good demand, since it is in the summer that people start renovations. In winter, all warm clothes and shoes are well bought: down jackets, hats, boots. On our blog you can find popular products.

Secondly, holidays affect seasonality. Moreover, you can count them on one hand: New Year, Christmas, St. Day. Valentine, February 23 and March 8. During the New Year period, buyers wait for traditional holiday sales; decorations and other holiday attributes are bought well. February and March are the time of gifts for men and women. Girls are looking for various accessories, belts, watches for their men. Men give jewelry, household appliances and soft toys.

In addition, other factors also influence seasonality. For example, traditionally in January and February demand decreases. This is due to the fact that people are not ready to make purchases because they spent so much during the holidays. And in the field of business with China, the Chinese New Year affects the decrease in demand. During this period, Chinese residents themselves do not work, and many do not see the point in placing orders. In summer, a decrease in demand is observed due to the start of the holiday season. However, starting from the second half of summer, buyers begin to be interested in goods for school - backpacks, stationery, clothes for school and sports.

During a seasonal downturn, it happens that a small online store has no sales at all. This can have a catastrophic effect on business development. Therefore, it is necessary to compensate for the seasonality factor by stimulating sales and minimizing costs.

What to do?

1. You can make special selections of seasonal products and place them on the main page of the site, as well as in separate categories of the catalog. This will make it easier for online store users to navigate the product range and quickly find what they need. IN Box OT such collections allow you to create a module Selector.
2. Setting different markups on goods depending on the season. Price adjustment depending on the season. For example, in winter, you can set a high markup on seasonal items and reduce the cost on off-season items such as T-shirts, T-shirts and much more. In our system, we have also provided a separate functionality for this - Banker.
3. Expand the range of products. This usually applies to highly specialized online stores. There are not many of them in business with China. So, you can add hobby and handicraft products to online office supply stores.
4. Develop a marketing campaign. Firstly, you need to think about the positioning of goods, this will help when selling seasonal goods. Secondly, use various promotions, discounts and special offers. So in the summer you can organize a sale of warm outerwear and make money from it.

It's worth noting that there are several common sales throughout the year, such as 11/11, Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday. They should also not be overlooked. Buyers are waiting for these sales and during their period they are ready to shop only where there are good discounts. In addition, such short-term stocks allow you to make good profits in a short period of time.

Separately, I would like to mention goods of temporary demand. Typically, such products are popular at a certain time and are influenced by various fashion trends. The demand for them is short-term. For example, in 2017, such a product was a spinner.

The entertaining spinning toy has taken the world by storm. A large number of people everywhere bought them. But this year the spinner is not in such demand and probably will not bring much profit to sellers.

Such products appear every year: teddy bears, furbies, Fingerlings monkeys. In the fashion industry segment: Ugg boots, this year faux leather trousers. The demand for them is dictated by fashion trends. You cannot make a permanent profit on such goods, because as soon as the fashion passes, the demand for them will fall. But at the peak of popularity, an online store can receive very good income from sales of trending products. Therefore, it is necessary to follow all fashion trends in order to put such a product into the assortment on time. And even add it to the selections on the main page so that the buyer can quickly find it.

It is necessary to seriously prepare for new sales seasons, think through marketing activities, and analyze sales seasons of past years. We can say that an online store must satisfy the needs of its customers at any time of the year and in any weather.

Seasonal goods– these are goods intended for use in a certain season of the year: spring, autumn, summer or winter. There is no special list of seasonal products. In accordance with the Rules for the sale of certain types of goods, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 19, 1998 N 55, seasonal goods include clothing, fur products, shoes and other goods used in certain climatic conditions.

How are warranty periods calculated for seasonal goods?

For these goods, warranty periods are calculated from the date of the corresponding season, determined by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation based on the climatic conditions of the location of consumers.

Thus, to calculate the warranty periods and service life of seasonal goods in the city of Moscow, the following dates for the onset of seasons are established:

• winter season – from November 1;
• spring season – from March 1;
• summer season – from May 1;
• autumn season – from September 1.

(Resolution of the Moscow Government dated July 16, 2013 N 466-PP “On establishing the timing of the onset of seasons for calculating the warranty periods and service life of seasonal goods in the city of Moscow”)

For example, if a down jacket was purchased at a spring sale, then the warranty period will begin to be calculated not from the date of purchase, but from November 1.

The warranty period is set by the manufacturer of the product. If the guarantee is not established by the manufacturer, then the seller (trading organization or individual entrepreneur) can provide a guarantee. The seller can also provide an additional guarantee for the product. The seller has no right to reduce the warranty period given by the manufacturer.

Features of replacement or return of seasonal goods

If a defect in a product that was not specified at the time of sale is discovered during the warranty period, the consumer has the right, at his choice, to demand either a refund for the defective product, or a proportionate reduction in its value, or its replacement with a similar product or a product of a different brand, model with a corresponding recalculation of the price, or the consumer may agree to eliminate the identified defect free of charge (repair).

Money for defective goods must be returned by the seller within 10 days. The exchange request must be fulfilled within 7 days, and if additional quality control or examination is necessary, within 20 days. The period for repairing the goods is established by the contract, but cannot exceed 45 days.

The consumer has the right to contact the seller (manufacturer) regarding the quality of the product even after the expiration of the warranty period, if it is less than 2 years and defects of the goods are discovered after its expiration, but within 2 years. In this case, the scope of rights of the consumer is the same. The only condition stipulated by law: the consumer must provide evidence that the defects of the product arose before the purchase or for reasons that arose before that moment.

That is, if a defect is identified after the expiration of the warranty period, the consumer has the right, within 2 years from the date of conclusion of the contract, to contact the seller, for example, for an exchange of goods, providing him with evidence that the reasons for the defect arose before the purchase (manufacturing defect).

If the seller has provided false information about the consumer properties of the product, which does not allow making the right choice, then in this case the consumer has the right to terminate the sales contract within a reasonable time and return the product to the seller. However, it is necessary to have evidence of providing false information.

If a seasonal product is of adequate quality, but does not fit (in shape, color, size, style, color), then you can replace it with a similar product within 14 days. In this case, the period is calculated from the date of purchase, and not the onset of the corresponding season. This is also possible provided that the item (clothing, fur products, shoes, etc.) has not been used, its presentation, consumer properties, labels, etc. have been preserved. If there is nothing to exchange the item for on the day of application, the seller must return the money within 3 days.

However, it must be taken into account that the Government of the Russian Federation has approved a List of goods that are not subject to exchange or return under the above circumstances. At the moment, there is a List of non-food products of good quality that cannot be returned or exchanged for a similar product of a different size, shape, dimension, style, color or configuration, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 19, 1998 N 55.

Depending on the time of year, goods are purchased more often or less often. Since this indicator is extremely important for entrepreneurs and owners of online stores, the term “seasonality” was introduced and divided into different categories. Essentially, it is the degree to which sales of a product fluctuate depending on the time of year.

Seasonality level for different products:

• tough- sales decline reaches up to 100%. Marketing methods are powerless in this case. These are mainly holiday products, like valentines, red New Year's hats, Easter decorations;

• average- reduction in buyer activity by 30-40%. This is the case when certain promotion methods help increase sales during the off season. These include ice cream, wedding suits and dresses, plastic windows, and services for their installation;

• moderate- decline by 10-15%. In this case, there is no point in spending resources on increasing sales during the low season, since the benefits do not correlate with the risks.

To best reveal the problems of promoting goods out of season, we conduct a step-by-step study:

1. We analyze individual product items that consumers are looking for out of season;
2. We study competitors' offers;
3. We make recommendations for an SEO strategy;

In order to carry out such complex work, we use the service Serpstat.

How high is the frequency of individual product items?

As an example of analyzing a seasonal product, we conduct research on a separate seasonal product. In this case, we kill two birds with one stone: we consider a product that is difficult to promote, and draw conclusions about the prospects for growth in its sales.

Now it’s the height of summer, and the temperature outside the window jumps to +28 C. We take a traditional winter product - skis. We enter the request “buy skis” and select a search engine. Go to the “Selection of phrases” section.

When comparing the frequency for the last month and the annual average, the gap ranges from 30 to 50%.

However, for some requests the frequency has not changed, and this provides a wide springboard for maneuvers.

High-frequency keywords are much harder to promote if there are no significant resources, so the option for small stores is semantics with an emphasis on mid- and low-frequency queries.

We compare with indicators for low-frequency keys. For example, we take the request “buy Fisher skis”, and we get the following results: the number of similar keywords is less than for high-frequency keywords, and they are requested much less often.

On the other hand, their conversion rate is high. If you add these keywords to your keywords and properly build an SEO campaign, your sales will increase.

One of the additional sources of traffic for seasonal products is search suggestions, which are often used by users.

Enter the key into the search and select a search engine. Go to the “Search Hints” section and filter by toponyms.

The search results show that in the ski niche it is worth paying attention to children's equipment.

What does the competitor offer?

One of the main tools for promoting a product is the introduction of competitors' ideas. In the context of seasonal goods, this is especially true. If you borrow “fresh” solutions from competitors and use them in a different wrapper, the damage from seasonality will be minimized.

Let's say we know that with the onset of summer, the number of gym visitors drops. To combat this, many are developing a discount system. Proper presentation of such a commercial proposal will work more effectively. For example, if a visitor receives an additional percentage discount for every extra kilogram, the promotion will attract more traffic.

Using such ideas is not the only advantage we get from analyzing competitors. It is important to note usability and design details that have changed due to the promotion of a seasonal product.

We carry out an analysis of competitors using Serpstat. To do this, enter a query, select a search engine, and go to the “Leading Pages” tab. We group the data by potential traffic level.

Now we discover the leaders of potential traffic and analyze their sites. For example, the ski store predelanet bases its policy on reviews and sales. At the same time, an outdated, colorful design repels a potential client. We combine successful solutions in promoting seasonal products, high-quality design, and get the maximum number of customers.

Even the low season of product sales is not difficult to revive if you take measures to optimize your SEO campaign. These actions are the foundation in the process of leveling out the damage that seasonality causes to profits:

• definition of keywords with which the SL is replenished;
• analyzing search tips and using them for further promotion;
• comprehensive research of competitors, and implementation of the best solutions in design, usability and discount system on your website.

If you have your own store selling various products, or you are optimizing sites that sell various products, use the information you receive to your advantage.

Notes