Counter-seasonal category

How it works

Most stores have an uneven year. In GetProfit data on 96 stores (July 2025 – June 2026), a store’s three best months brought a median 2.62× the ad revenue of its three worst. A counter-seasonal category peaks inside that dip: the off-season of the main range is its high season.

In our analysis a category counts as counter-seasonal when its three best months overlap the store’s three worst. We counted only categories with at least 5% of the store’s revenue and 30 conversions over the same period. Of 42 stores with two or more qualifying categories, 17 already had a counter-seasonal one, and in those it brought a median 19% of revenue.

A new category carries its own risk. It starts with no sales history to set bids and targets on, and one season of data cannot tell a real peak from a one-off. For a store that sells in one broad category, a counter-seasonal one means entering a new niche. Our article on counter-seasonal products covers what to sell in the weakest months.

Where you see it

• GetProfit portal: Assortment and seasonality shows revenue by month over two years. It also gives each notable category its own seasonal state, so a category can have a season while the store as a whole does not.

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop sells most from October to December. Its weakest months are June to August: 270,000 of revenue in all, or 90,000 a month. It adds outdoor and picnic tableware, which sells best in summer.

If that category brings 54,000 over those three months and the rest of the range sells as before, the summer total becomes 324,000. The new category’s share of it is 54,000 ÷ 324,000 = 16.7%.

Not to be confused with

• Seasonal gap — a part of the year when none of the store’s main categories is in season. A counter-seasonal category is one way to fill it.

Right and wrong readings

• Wrong: “A counter-seasonal category makes the store grow.” Right: of the 42 stores in our analysis, those with a counter-seasonal category grew a median 1.16× over the year, and those without one 1.22×. The data does not support the link. What the category does is fill the weak months.

Sources

• GetProfit data: 96 online stores, July 2025 – June 2026, 42 of them with two or more significant categories — seasonal spread, counter-seasonal categories and growth.