As a marketer, it’s fascinating to observe the changes in consumer demand for services across different industries throughout the year. Even more enlightening is understanding the reasons behind these shifts. As I look at trends across different industries, I can see how external factors heavily influence my purchasing behaviour—whether it’s taking a trip to IKEA in April for new storage boxes (definitely not just an excuse for the meatballs) or ordering a warm curry on a chilly Friday evening in November.
It’s crucial in my role to understand how these demand trends impact my clients’ accounts. This also applies to business owners, as it enables us both to be informed and strategically prepared.
The influence of external factors on purchasing behaviour varies between markets—for example, commercial and domestic. In this piece, I’ll explore demand trends across both, analysing two industries we specialise in here at Adtrak: concrete supply and skip hire.
B2B (Business-to-Business) Demand Trend Influences in the Concrete Industry
According to Google search trends, there are consistent peaks in searches for concrete between March and May, suggesting higher demand for concrete supply. Searches tend to decline between November and January—I imagine search volumes for "what to wear to the work Christmas party" take priority during this period.
Search Demand Influences
Weather
As we head into the spring and summer months, weather conditions in the UK improve (though this is up for debate given the summer we’ve just had). The improvement in weather makes outdoor commercial construction projects more practical. This is especially true for the concrete industry, as colder temperatures can affect the quality of concrete by impacting the curing process. There are also likely to be fewer weather-related disruptions during these months, such as those affecting travel.
The summer months also gives us longer days. To take advantage of this, and the other benefits of weather changes, business owners may decide to begin construction projects early into Spring.
End of the Financial Year
As the financial year comes to an end in April and businesses get a concrete (sorry) grasp of upcoming budgets, companies may begin planning for future developments, including construction projects that often require a supply of concrete. The start of a new financial year also opens up opportunities for investors to take advantage of tax incentives, which may come in the form of investments in commercial construction projects. As daffodils begin to blossom, giving us a sense of optimism, the new financial year may also foster similar feelings, as both businesses and investors could have renewed financial confidence. As the year draws to a close and budgets get tighter, these investments may slow down, waiting for the new financial year to launch new projects.
Government and Infrastructure
For similar reasons as mentioned above, during the spring and summer months, the UK Government often ramps up infrastructure projects, such as road maintenance and public sector projects. This likely drives up the demand for concrete even further.
Holiday Season
In November the highly-anticipated annual John Lewis advert meets our TV screens, signalling that Christmas is around the corner. During this time, both employees and businesses may take breaks, which can halt construction projects.
A similar trend can be observed during the warmer summer months (June to August), when annual leave for holidays may be taken. The school summer holidays may also play a role in this, as employees take leave for childcare purposes. These factors likely contribute to the peaks in searches that we see in early spring.
B2C (Business-to-Consumer) Demand Trends Influences in the Skip Hire Industry
Many of the points above can also be applied to the commercial side of the skip hire industry. But what about the domestic market? We observe similar trends in terms of when searches for skip hire peak, specifically from April to June, with searches decreasing between November and January.
We can also see the impact that the lockdowns due to Coronavirus had in 2020 and 2021 on skip hire and similar industries, with search trends booming during these years.
Search Demand Influences
Spring Clean Tradition
During the 20th century, marketing and advertising for cleaning and similar products embedded the idea of spring cleaning into popular culture. These brands intensified their marketing efforts in the spring, with messaging centred around tackling the annual task of deep cleaning the house. This appears to have normalised the concept of "spring cleaning" in our everyday lives. During these annual deep cleans, decluttering of domestic spaces, such as houses and garages, often takes place, which appears to increase the demand for waste removal services, such as skip hire. This may also be a time to clear out the clutter and unfavourable gifts accumulated during the Christmas period.
Motivation and Psychological Factors
With the seasonal blues fading as we gain a boost in serotonin levels at the thought of enjoying a cold pint in a beer garden at the end of the working week, the warm weather and longer days may impact people's motivation and energy levels. Similarly, spring is often associated with fresh starts. These notions could inspire homeowners to begin domestic projects, which may require skip hire services that they have neglected during the colder and darker months.
Garden and Landscaping
With the improvement in weather during spring, we tend to focus more on garden projects that have largely been abandoned over the winter months. Again, these projects often require waste disposal services.
Winterising the Home
After a long winter of fighting with your significant other for the quilts, spring may be a good time to make decisions about preparing and upgrading the house for the next winter. This could include winterizing projects such as installing new heating systems, for which waste management services may be needed.
Real Estate Market
Demand in the housing market appears to increase during the warmer months due to an array of factors. This includes families wanting to settle into their new homes before the new school year starts, better weather conditions for viewings, and home improvement projects inspiring homeowners to sell for something new. The previously discussed idea of "fresh starts" in spring can also be applied here. With house moves comes decluttering, which again boosts the demand for waste management services.
Holiday Season
We tend to tighten our belts around the Christmas season, focusing our budgets on buying gifts for family members who "don't want or need anything." As a result, home improvement projects take a back seat, as does the demand for domestic skip hire.
Although Christmas brings clutter that inevitably needs to be cleared, local governments often offer additional services for household waste during this time, reducing the need for extra waste services.
Service demand trends are complicated, and the many influences behind these add to the complexity. Influences can come from various sources, ranging from economic changes to psychological ideologies promoted in popular culture. As we saw with market changes during the lockdowns of 2020-2021, trends can be unpredictable.
That being said, some trends in demand appear to be consistent, and this information should be leveraged by businesses and marketers to strategically prepare for seasonal changes in demand for their services. What businesses can and should do with this information will be discussed here in my next blog. A sensible choice may seem to be to pull marketing efforts back during off-peak months; however, I will discuss in the next article why this may not be an optimal strategy.
