Should you market at the end of the yr

[Vvel]

Since Christmas is here, shipping is overwhelmed, and people already spent on gift, should u not do any ads until mid January when people recover from holiday spending

[Olivia]

Hey, @Vvel.

Olivia here from the Shopify Team.

Thanks for prompting this discussion, I'd be very curious to hear what take other business owners have on this.

Personally speaking, I've worked in retail in the past and I can definitely agree there is some shopping fatigue between January and February as Boxing Day sales come to a close and people prepare for the new year.

With that being said, I think the answer might be very subjective depending on your industry and your target market. Take for example January is historically related to new year resolutions - things like fitness passes and wellness services see some of their biggest sale surges at this time.

If we take a look at some of the stats around January 2020, we can see sales were up in comparison to December 2019 for the whole retail sector. This of course may be related to several economic factors as the data also shows that December 2019 sales were unusually lower than previous years. Long story short - commerce can be unpredictable.

While traditionally the upcoming months may have been expected to be slower, we don't know quite what to expect entering 2021 after this unprecedented year. I'd love to hear your thoughts and others below!

Warm regards,

[Henry-Chinaski]

It seems to me that it makes sense to advertise, because not all people have bought gifts yet.

[Olivia]

That's a great point, @Henry-Chinaski!

I also thought you might enjoy our Future of Commerce Report, @Vvel. To quote the report:

There’s a shift happening in the world of commerce. Discover the most important trends impacting the industry in 2021 and beyond.

I trust you will enjoy reading that as much as I did and gain valuable insights.

Warm regards,

[Propelguru]

Year-end is an excellent time to start thinking about how you can save money on taxes by properly structuring your capital gains and losses. Let's look at some options if you've already suffered losses. Assume you lost money in the stock market in 2016, but you have other financial assets that have grown in value. Consider if you should sell appreciated assets (if you assume their value has peaked) before the end of the year to cover profits with pre-existing losses.