When it comes to product selection and operation, I am quite averse to choosing seasonal products. The reason is very simple. I don't think I am sensitive enough to grasp the rhythm of short-term operations. In addition, I have set an iron rule for the team not to fake orders during operations. It takes a certain amount of time to actually promote any product, and the creation of seasonal products is a typical race against time. If we add in the control of inventory, I am not sure how to sell out the inventory at the end of the season. Since you can't do it well, just stay away from it. That’s why we avoid seasonal products when selecting products.
But the reality is that there are always some sellers who want to seize the climax of a peak season and make a fortune on seasonal products to achieve the goal of "making money in one season and supporting themselves for a year". Therefore, they are always eager to choose seasonal products.
The biggest advantage of seasonal products is their strong explosive power. If operated properly, it is not a problem to receive hundreds or thousands of orders a day in a short period of time. As long as you can place orders, you can make money, and you can make money quickly. Just like what a seller of winter warm products said, the store’s monthly sales are usually only tens of thousands of dollars, but after October, even the daily sales can reach tens of thousands of dollars. The ecstasy brought by a sudden burst is very exciting, which is why some sellers desperately pursue seasonal products.
But where there are advantages there are also disadvantages. The disadvantage of choosing seasonal products is that sales are usually low or even non-existent, so it takes a long time to prepare. When the season comes, a large amount of stock is needed, which puts a lot of financial pressure on you. If there is any disturbance in the account, the risk is relatively high. Furthermore, if sales are not as good as expected, it may cause a large backlog of inventory. If there is a large backlog of inventory, not only will the profits be diluted, but it will even be difficult to recover the costs.
Based on the above advantages and disadvantages, when choosing seasonal products, the correct attitude of sellers should be to make annual product selection and stocking plans in advance. Seasonal products should be stocked about 3 months in advance, and the products should be stocked in the FBA warehouse before the peak sales season begins.
Because there is no reference data for this year, the inventory quantity should refer to the sales of the previous year. At the same time, it is best to compare the product trend curves of the first few quarters of this year with the same period of the previous year to see if there are any abnormalities. Only when the trend curves are consistent, then make the same proportion of inventory forecast. Sellers can obtain trend curves through relevant data such as the number of keyword searches on Google.
Seasonal products, especially those for the Christmas peak season, should be stocked early to avoid the embarrassment of not having the goods in the warehouse when the peak season starts, and also to avoid the many disadvantages caused by the skyrocketing logistics costs and logistics delays caused by warehouse overflows during the peak season.
As for the quantity of inventory, we must make an objective assessment and stock conservatively. We should not be overly optimistic, and we must not have the mentality of "taking a big gamble." It is better to miss the last wave of the peak season because of sold out than to have a situation where there is still a lot of inventory after the peak season due to overstocking.
In the operation of seasonal products, you must try to be "fast, accurate, and ruthless". Sellers must build products at a fast pace, post reviews quickly when necessary, and advertise vigorously when necessary. Because once you are a little slow and are overtaken by your competitors, and the top ranking positions are occupied by your competitors, it will not be easy for you to surpass them.
When it comes to creating seasonal products, “slow and steady wins the race” may not be feasible, and if you are a seller with a “Buddhist order-taking” mentality, then you should just forget about it, because it may not really be suitable for you.
