If you’re a stats nerd like me, you’re always looking for weird trends in seasonal sales. See, statistics aren’t just my job but my passion. I love numbers, charts, graphs (line, bar, histograms and pie. I don’t discriminate) and any other methodology that helps my company enrich our market presence.
Oftentimes, when I’m on these statistical sojourns, I’ll find some information that leaves me scratching my head. We all know that sales generally peak around the holidays—Christmas, Hanukkah, Black Friday and now Cyber Monday—but some industries have other “peak seasons” outside of December.
In this article, I’ve chosen five favorites that I found most surprising and the most fascinating. So buckle your seatbelts, because you’ve got a ticket to the most exciting show on earth: Sales peaks outside of the holidays for various industries!
5. Candy
If I asked you what you thought the peak sales month for candy was, what would you say?
Probably Halloween. And, no, you wouldn’t be wrong.
Okay so what would be your second guess?
Would you say Valentines Day, maybe? Well you would be wrong because Valentines Day is actually a distant third behind Easter!
That’s right, over a billion dollars worth of candy is sold in the days and weeks adjacent to Easter. Put another way, that’s just over 146 million pounds. Candy, especially the kind packaged in bulk, is marketed seasonally, which is actually a pretty shrewd move on the part of candy manufacturers. Nobody wants to be eating Halloween candy on Easter and vice versa. It’s just so gauche.
4. Sunglasses
Mostly we think of spring and summer as the peak season for buying sunglasses and that’s still true. What’s interesting is that sunglasses sales are just as dependent on weather patterns as seasons.
For instance, according to a recent study, consumers in the south and southeast are less likely to buy sunglasses if they know that large storm systems, like hurricanes, will be coming through regularly and if the summer months are going to be particularly wet.
On the flipside, if the summer is supposed to be sunny, there’ll unsurprisingly be a spike in sunglasses sales.
3. Alcohol
When I originally looked at alcohol sales statistics, I assumed that they would stay pretty consistent across the board and then spike around the holidays. While this is mostly true, there are interesting seasonal sales differences for each wine, beer and liquor.
For example, liquor stays mostly consistent throughout the year but with a surprising drop around Thanksgiving and then a large bump right around New Years.
Wine, on the other hand, has a slow build until the summer months when it drastically drops. This summertime drop could be one of the reasons we see so many wineries beginning to push rosé wine so aggressively into the market.
Wine sales build slowly, peaking around Thanksgiving and then, and this doesn’t make any sense to any rational human, drops again right around New Years when you’d think champagne sales would be at an all-time high.
Beer sales are pretty spot on, spiking during the summer months, slowly dropping and then spiking again when the winter is most bitter. This could be in large part to more beer drinkers drinking seasonally and choosing big and boozy stouts and porters in those winter months.
2. Automobiles
With all those commercials showing new cars wrapped in bows being given as Christmas gifts you’d think that automobile sales spiked during the holidays.
In fact, it’s from February to the end of May and then again from September to around Thanksgiving when they peak. During these times, automobile sales trend upward to the tune of 10% to 15%.
They then take a steep decline around Christmas. Generally, these are the times when manufacturers introduce new model years and whip consumers into a frenzy over new design details.
1. Dog Calming Coats
Believe it or not, people are spending more money than ever on their pets. One of the most popular new items in the pet care market is the dog-calming coat. If you’ve never seen or used a dog-calming coat, it can be an actual lifesaver for your pet.
According to veterinary science, dogs respond positively to pressure on their chest and back, like a nice hug from their owner. Unfortunately, when there are loud noises, we’re not always around to give them extended hugs, ergo, the dog-calming coat.
This is why popular opinion would suggest that dog-calming coat sales spike around the Fourth of July and storm season when there’s a high likelihood that there’ll be thunder, lightening or fireworks.
Final Word
Maybe you’re not a stats nerd like me but I think these trends are pretty darn interesting. If anything, it shows us that, depending on your product or industry, there may be a better, more season-specific time for you to aggressively push into the market.
And it just goes to show you, there’s always a statistical reason to think outside the box!