Following the frenzy of holiday spending, many ecommerce brands find themselves in a strong financial position. With the gifting season behind them, brands are benefiting from increased revenue and improved cash flow. While this offers a moment of stability, why wait for a potential financial lull to secure future funding? Applying for funding early ensures brands have the financial support and flexibility needed to seize future opportunities and maintain growth momentum with confidence as their brand continues to scale.

Secure Funding While Your Cash Flow is Strong

We all know the holiday season is a prime time for ecommerce brands to cash in big when it comes to incoming revenue. A survey done by PwC on the 2024 Canadian Holiday Outlook found that Canadian consumers were planning to spend an average of $1,853 on gifts, travel and entertainment this holiday season, a 13% increase over last year. Even the National Retail Federation predicted that holiday spending in 2024 would reach a new record of $902 per person on gifts and other seasonal items. Clearly, a sizable increase in generosity and spending this past holiday season has made the post-holiday season prime time for ecommerces to secure strong income and establish their financial position for the coming year.

Although this surge in healthy cash flow during the holidays leaves many brands feeling secure in their financial standing, it’s never a bad idea to proactively seek out funding for long-term growth. Ecommerce brands can never be too prepared for the future, especially those looking to grow their operations. As seasonality changes, so does cash flow and your economic footing can shift fast. For businesses not looking to find themselves in challenging fiscal statuses during slower sales periods like the January sales slump, it’s key to look at proactive strategies such as securing funding to support sustainable long-term growth.

Why Now Is the Best Time to Secure Funding

When it comes to business growth, securing the right type of funding is crucial. As the new year sets in and brands begin to assess their launch strategies for new products and services, working capital partners become key allies for optimizing growth. With the global ecommerce market expected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2027, with a CAGR of 14.4%, ecommerce businesses are in a prime position to seize opportunities and scale rapidly. However, this pace of growth demands consistent cash flow. While the holiday season typically provides an influx of revenue, slower sales periods can challenge that stability.

It’s here that working capital partners serve as a stepping stone to sizeable growth, providing the funding needed to implement strategies that drive aggressive scalability. Armed with a strong financial momentum from the holiday season, brands are encouraged to secure funding early to maintain their growth trajectory. Adopting the approach of securing funding when cash flow is strong helps brands stay on track and maintain their momentum, ensuring continuous growth without disruptions that could arise from cash flow challenges. In fact, post-holiday cash reserves and healthy revenue streams improve the likelihood of funding approval for ecommerce brands, making this an ideal time to invest in the future. 

Stay Ahead of Seasonality by Securing Funding Now

As the holiday season ramps down and businesses revel in the high of financial confidence, brands that are already looking to the future stand apart from the rest. Typically, slower sales periods after the holidays can pose common challenges for growth such as reduced demands, higher operational costs and lower incoming revenue. These challenges can make it difficult for scaling brands to execute on their planned marketing and advertising strategies for the new year. According to QuickBooks State of Small Business Cash Flow survey, 61% of small business owners regularly struggle with cash flow issues, with 32% unable to pay suppliers as a result. These delays, especially post-holiday season, can significantly stall business growth. Securing early funding can help mitigate these challenges and allow businesses to maintain their growth momentum during slow sales periods. Inevitably, as the influx of cash reserves from the holiday season begins to dwindle, securing early funding from working capital partners empowers brands to continue their growth momentum and set their trajectory for success. 

Brands that secure funding early will find themselves in a confident position in slower sales periods and able to invest in various strategies to continue their success streak. Investing in marketing and advertising campaigns for customer engagement, experimenting with new growth strategies, and managing inventory and shipping costs during slower sales periods all become possible. By securing early funding, ecommerces can bridge the gap between peak seasons, without straining their existing cash reserves and experiencing any disruptions to cash flow. Taking advantage of your brand's strong cash flow position to secure additional funding proactively secures your business for the future, and empowers growing brands to continue their investment momentum into the new year and beyond. 

Don’t wait for the slow sales season to catch you off guard. Clearco wants to ensure you can plan for your seasonality peaks and declines throughout 2025 in the most effective, profitable way - download our seasonality report to make sure you stay ahead of the trends in your sector and plan financing and funding accordingly.