With a 100% surge in searches for “how to start an online store” over the past months, the experts at Wix.com analyzed monthly search data for top online stores across five major retail sectors – tech, fashion, beauty, entertainment, and home – to determine the optimal months to promote your online store based on consumer demand. They also provided their expert tips for building a successful online business.
For the complete data, please click here.
According to the research, the most profitable month to boost your online store is November, with monthly searches for top retailers averaging 188,224,838 – the highest of all months analyzed. Average monthly searches rose by over 30% between October and November.
December followed closely in second place (184,967,086 searches); average monthly searches dropped by less than 2% between November and December.
The average monthly searches across November and December was 22% higher than the average searches across the remaining 10 months. This could be explained by Black Friday and Christmas falling in these months: two of the biggest consumer events in the calendar.
The lowest monthly searches for top online stores was in February (142,581,276 average monthly searches), suggesting that this is the worst month to invest in your online business, followed very closely by October with the next lowest number of searches.
However, not all brands and sectors fall into this trend
|
Average monthly searches |
Tech |
Fashion |
Beauty |
Entertainment |
Home |
|
January |
23,853,108 |
23,566,956 |
8,561,262 |
59,306,601 |
40,054,586 |
|
February |
21,145,770 |
22,719,163 |
7,350,942 |
53,274,997 |
38,090,404 |
|
March |
21,579,505 |
24,654,635 |
8,245,958 |
54,385,151 |
41,610,796 |
|
April |
20,735,822 |
25,576,657 |
8,548,596 |
55,109,067 |
47,328,511 |
|
May |
20,888,013 |
26,867,040 |
8,546,074 |
54,216,555 |
50,449,140 |
|
June |
21,326,724 |
26,536,521 |
9,430,673 |
53,003,177 |
48,160,249 |
|
July |
21,355,651 |
26,477,702 |
8,179,828 |
53,188,878 |
47,400,046 |
|
August |
21,161,154 |
24,666,142 |
8,349,002 |
52,217,300 |
43,976,917 |
|
September |
22,804,308 |
24,301,093 |
8,406,427 |
52,547,936 |
40,202,316 |
|
October |
20,082,994 |
25,395,522 |
8,451,170 |
51,843,139 |
37,921,649 |
|
November |
31,526,525 |
33,692,911 |
14,896,628 |
61,206,947 |
46,901,827 |
|
December |
29,191,762 |
32,157,176 |
18,863,115 |
62,727,319 |
42,027,714 |
|
Best month to invest |
November |
November |
December |
December |
May |
|
Worst month to invest |
October |
February |
February |
October |
October |
For the complete data, please click here.
According to the research, for online home stores, the optimal month to invest is May, with searches peaking at this time. Average monthly searches for the top online homeware retailers rose by over 25% from January to May. Home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s saw an especially significant peak in the late spring/early summer months.
The tech eCommerce sector generally follows the trend of November and December peaks, however not all brands emulate this pattern. Apple typically launches their new iPhone models in September, leading to average searches for this month being almost 50% higher than across the remaining months, and 22% higher than the next highest month (November).
Some top fashion retailers also deviate from the norm. Searches for ASOS reach their height in April, and surprisingly December is the month with the lowest average number of searches; 25% lower than the April peak. This is a significant difference from the sector’s trend of a November and December peak.
Two types of stores stood out as having the most significant November and December peaks in searches: stores notorious for their Black Friday deals (e.g., Best Buy), and stores that are famously popular Christmas shopping destinations (e.g., Macy’s).
For Bath and Body Works, a notable festive shopping location, average monthly searches across November and December were over 150% higher than the average across the remaining months.
The experts at Wix.com provide their advice for opening an online store:
1. Know your target audience and market
“One of the most crucial first steps to opening an online business is knowing your target audience and market. The better acquainted you are with your audience, their behavior, and their needs, the better your chances are for creating a successful business. Getting into the mind of your buyer will help you to make the best decisions on product design, marketing strategies, and website experience.
2. What to sell?
“You should use this knowledge of your target audience and market to guide your decisions on what products your store should sell, asking yourself questions such as: Is there a popular type of product that I can optimize? Is there an untapped market I can draw upon? Which trends can I tap into? On top of this, you should consider practical and logistical factors for your products, such as manufacturing, profit margins, legal restrictions, and shipping.
3. Begin creating your store
“Once you know your audience and product, you can begin building an online store. This includes choosing an eCommerce platform, assessing factors such as available features, scalability, and security, as well as deciding whether to partner with a dropshipper and connecting a payment provider.
4. Build your brand
“Next, you need to work on your brand. A good first step is choosing a name for your store, considering brand identity, individuality, and SEO potential, and then registering an appropriate domain name. You should also spend time deciding on logos, typography, color palettes, and tone of voice for your brand.
5. Time to design
“Finally, it’s time to design your online store. Here, you can let your creativity flow, but you should also keep in mind consistent branding and optimizing the site for sales. Once your store is ready to go, you should implement marketing strategies to create awareness and drive customers to your store.
“If you always keep your consumer in mind and prioritize diligent planning when opening your online store, you will set yourself up for the best chances of success.”