With this latest release, FastSpring has added the ability to accept and manage recurring subscriptions using Pix Automático. As the only MoR offering this solution, FastSpring is the best partner for technology, gaming, and digital product companies to effortlessly enable subscriptions in the Brazilian market. With FastSpring, it’s easier than ever to operate in Brazil with zero localized compliance headaches, giving you a massive advantage in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies.

Why Local Payment Options Matter

• Market Expansion: Instantly reach Pix’s 150M+ monthly active users. This extends your addressable market far beyond credit cards (limited to ~35% of the population) and removes the friction of manual Boleto Bancário payments.
  
• Predictable Revenue: Replace manual payment cycles with a native auto-debit infrastructure supported by a network of 400+ participating banks. You can now architect your Brazil pricing with the same recurring confidence as in North America or Europe.
  
• Reduced Involuntary Churn: Improve your bottom line by bypassing card network limitations and international transaction filters. Pix Automático effectively eliminates the high authorization decline rates common with credit card transactions in the LATAM region.
  
• Operational Efficiency: Tap into Brazil’s R$1 trillion subscription opportunity without the administrative burden of chasing manual renewals or managing complex, bank-by-bank direct debit agreements.
  
• Buyer Trust: Leverage the Pix ecosystem to offer a transparent checkout experience. Customers can manage mandates directly in their banking apps, fostering the long-term trust required for recurring digital sales.

Ready to learn more about how you can expand your business in Brazil with Pix Automático? Take a look at our release documentation or explore our list of global payment methods to see how we support the entire global market. Schedule a demo with one of our global payment specialists to learn about how FastSpring can help you successfully expand into Brazil and beyond.

The post Scaling Subscriptions in Brazil: Introducing Pix Automático appeared first on FastSpring.

However, many founders quickly discover that the biggest hurdle to global growth isn’t product-market fit — it’s the structural drag of an entirely different set of Western administrative and regulatory requirements.

Companies are often caught off guard by the technical requirements and administrative realities. Moving into the West is not just about switching currencies; it’s a fundamental shift in how you manage your customer lifecycle and your business’s legal footprint.

Every new market demands its own web of legal entities, localized contracts, domestic banking, and tax registrations. That means that a lean, engineering-led startup can quickly become bogged down in legal and finance operations.

Based on FastSpring’s own internal data and our experience helping thousands of sellers scale, here are six proven strategies to navigate the high-stakes transition from APAC into Western markets.

FastSpring is how companies in APAC enter the western market online and in more places around the world. We handle every payment need — from subscription management to tax collection, remittance, and more — so your business can go farther, faster. We’re also the leading merchant of record for global software companies, powering over a billion dollars in worldwide transactions every year. We’ll manage your checkout, VAT and sales taxes, compliance, and more, freeing you to focus on what you do best: building great software. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

1. Leverage the Merchant of Record (MoR) Model

Selecting the right financial architecture is the most critical decision an APAC seller can make when selling beyond their home region. For many, the merchant of record (MoR) model provides a shortcut through the bureaucratic hurdles that typically accompany international growth. The MoR serves as the legal entity responsible for every transaction, allowing your team to focus on the product experience while the MoR handles the heavy lifting of global commerce.

• Immediate Market Entry: An MoR eliminates the need for APAC companies to establish local legal entities in the U.S. or Europe, enabling global expansion in days rather than months. Entity setup is not just a one-time cost — it creates ongoing legal, financial, and operational overhead.
• Compliance Outsourcing: The MoR handles the calculation, collection, and remittance of sales taxes and VAT, and it assumes the risk for fraud and chargebacks. And while taxes are very important, this is also critical  for companies using traditional PSPs, because it is just one part of a much bigger operational burden.

2. Meet Digital Goods Regulations in Europe

Europe has moved aggressively to standardize the digital economy, introducing frameworks that require absolute precision in data handling and tax reporting. Navigating these rules requires a proactive approach to ensure your checkout process remains both compliant and conversion-friendly. 

The following recent and ongoing mandates represent a hard line for international sellers, where universal requirements have replaced previous exemptions for smaller companies. 

• VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA): As of Jan. 1, 2025, previous VAT registration thresholds have been eliminated. Every B2C digital sale, no matter how small, is now a taxable event that must be reported through the One Stop Shop (OSS) system.
• The EU Data Act: Starting in September 2025, European customers have a “cancel anytime” right for cloud services, allowing them to terminate contracts with two months’ notice regardless of legacy terms. Providers must also ensure data portability, and by early 2027, all “switching fees” will be prohibited.
• Privacy as a Trust Factor: Beyond legal mandates such as GDPR, 2026 marks a shift toward “Privacy by Design.” Western buyers increasingly treat data transparency as a competitive requirement, so showing clear, auditable trails for data residency and automated decision-making is no longer just a legal hurdle but a primary driver of customer trust.

3. Navigate US Tax and Subscription Enforcement

The United States market is currently defined by complex state and federal regulations. Success in the U.S. requires a keen eye on shifting state legislation and a commitment to clear, accessible user terms that protect your business from regulatory scrutiny. 

Balancing these local tax obligations with federal consumer protection rules is essential for any APAC brand looking to establish a long-term presence.

• The Nexus Maze: Many U.S. states now impose sales tax on digital downloads and SaaS. For example, starting July 1, 2025, Maryland enacted a 3% sales tax specifically on technology services.
• Subscription Transparency: The FTC continues to aggressively enforce subscription transparency under the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). Companies must offer simple, accessible cancellation options and clear disclosures about auto-renewal terms or risk significant penalties.
• Data Minimization: In line with the FTC’s focus on consumer protection, Western brands are shifting toward “data minimization”: the practice of only collecting what is strictly necessary. For APAC companies accustomed to data-rich “super-app” models, adopting a lean data approach is essential to avoid the multi-million-dollar settlements that are common under U.S. state privacy laws such as California’s CCPA.

4. Bridge the Gap Between Design and UX

APAC and Western customers often operate on different visual logic. While many high-growth Asian interfaces thrive on information density (such as surfacing multiple options, promotions, and data points all at once to show value), Western users typically favor minimalism and progressive disclosure. In the U.S. and EU, consumers don’t view a cluttered UI as feature-rich; instead, they perceive it as overwhelming and even spammy.

Here are a few tips on how to design for these audiences as you expand your business:

• Design for Focus, Not Completeness: Western SaaS buyers prioritize speed and ease. They expect a clean, minimalist layout with a single, clear call-to-action (CTA). In Western markets, whitespace is a functional tool for guiding the eye; removing it can lead to higher bounce rates.
• The Trust of Transparency: While APAC buyers often build trust through multi-sensory engagement, Western buyers build trust through visual clarity. This includes clear typography, a subdued color palette (moving away from high-energy reds and golds), and a direct, step-by-step onboarding flow that reveals features only as needed.
• Actionable Adjustment: Audit your marketing site and product dashboard for visual noise. Shift from a high-density, all-in-one layout to a streamlined experience that highlights one specific outcome at a time. This reduces the mental effort required for a Western buyer to say “yes” to your product.

5. Optimize Payment Performance and Risk

Cross-border payment performance is a silent variable that can either accelerate your growth or quietly drain your revenue through high decline rates. Friction at the point of purchase is often the result of poorly localized payment methods, or of inadequate fraud management that flags legitimate international buyers. 

For APAC companies, the most significant hurdle is often infrastructure: transitioning from a region where digital wallets and real-time payments are the primary engine of commerce to Western markets that remain deeply rooted in one-click payment systems.

• Local Optimization: Adding local payment methods (such as iDEAL in the Netherlands) can increase checkout conversion rates by up to 30%. Successful brands use dynamic checkouts that automatically detect a user’s location to display relevant currencies and billing frequencies.
• Managing Risk: Fraud and risk are harder to manage internationally. For example, while India’s UPI transactions are generally irreversible, Western credit cards offer robust consumer protections that make disputes easy. Utilizing an MoR can help mitigate this by assuming the legal and financial risk for fraud and chargebacks, protecting your bottom line from the volatility of international payment disputes.

6. Implement Advanced Pricing Strategies

Simply converting your home-market pricing into USD or EUR is rarely a winning strategy. To truly capture the market, APAC brands must adopt sophisticated pricing models that reflect the actual purchasing power and billing expectations of Western customers. These adjustments aren’t just cosmetic — they’re data-backed methods for increasing the lifetime value of every user you acquire.

• Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): Universal pricing often fails. SaaS companies that implement PPP-adjusted pricing — reflecting local economic conditions — see up to 18% higher growth rates and 25% higher revenue per customer.
• Annual vs. Monthly Billing: While monthly retention in Asia often hovers around 75% compared to 85%+ in the West, annual subscription retention is nearly identical globally. Understanding how customers like to buy (e.g., promoting annual plans) can help stabilize revenue and offset higher Western acquisition costs.

Scale Efficiently With FastSpring

Global expansion can get expensive quickly when each new market adds more internal complexity. FastSpring handles the global checkout, tax management, and regulatory compliance so you can focus on building your SaaS or software business rather than managing administrative overhead.

Ready to scale your SaaS beyond borders? Schedule a demo today.

The post 6 Proven Strategies for APAC Companies to Successfully Enter Western Markets appeared first on FastSpring.

For example, using a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing and packaging tends to be less fair for players located in countries with lower disposable income, which also limits your ability to increase revenue and profit driven by players in those countries.

We know there is potential to make things more fair for players and increase profits at the same time — but how can we localize pricing without making players angry at a lack of pricing parity between countries?

In this article, we explore how optimizing global pricing and packaging is a delicate balance between driving transaction volume, profitability, and pricing parity. We’ll take you through a crawl-walk-run approach to finding the best formula for your game’s global P&P strategies that can deliver the most value to you and your players — without making them angry.

The ROI of Global Flexibility

Optimizing for profitability with your global P&P strategy is a fairly straightforward concept. The lower your price is in any particular country, the more transaction volume you’ll have, but with a lower profitability per transaction. If your transaction volume increases enough, your total profit for that country will increase, even if your profit per transaction is lower. Easy peasy.

The more complex part of global P&P is when pricing parity across countries is considered. 

For example, gaming is a global and social business. Your players are everywhere and likely interact with each other on Discord, Reddit, or other social media. If you offer players in India a lower price than you offer to players in the U.S., then your U.S. players may learn of your lack of pricing parity between countries and get angry with you. They may even try to game the system by using VPNs or other techniques to try to get access to the lower pricing. Not so easy… peasy.

So how do you localize your P&P globally to maximize profits without making players angry? 

I like to recommend a crawl-walk-run approach to price localization, starting with the least aggressive options and testing into more aggressive options over time.

Global Pricing and Packaging Strategies

(Ordered by Least to Most Aggressive)

1. No Localization: You offer the same currency and price globally.

2. Localized Currencies: You charge the same price in all countries, but offer local currencies pegged to the current exchange rate for that currency.

Pro tip: Changing prices frequently due to shifting exchange rates can be confusing for players. I recommend evaluating exchange rates about once a year to set prices instead of changing prices frequently or dynamically. That said, you should take note that exchange rates can change quickly depending on the country and world events, so prices that make sense in January might not make as much sense in March.

3. Localized Discounts and Promotions: You offer the same products at the same list price (adjusted for local currencies) in all countries, but you offer a limited time discount for that country (e.g., “We’re celebrating our growth in India with 20% off our June battle pass for India-based players!”). Players tend to be more forgiving of celebratory regional discounts causing a lack of price parity vs. a lack of parity for everyday list prices.

Pro tip: Use geo localization on your web store to gate offers to only show to players located in the countries you’re targeting. You can use IP addresses or the player’s billing address (for logged in players) to power geo localization on your web store.

4. Localized Products: You offer slightly different products for a lower price in specific countries (e.g. “Buy BattlePass Lite for a 50% discount. Excludes bonus skins included in the main battle pass.”). The logic behind this strategy is that if players in one country notice a cheaper price in another country, you can point out that this is because those players get less for that price. Lower price = less entitlements.

Pro tip: Try acknowledging that you’re offering players in certain countries cheaper options with less entitlements to help all players enjoy your game regardless of their access to disposable income. There’s nothing sneaky or wrong about trying to be inclusive and fair.

5. Localized Pricing: You offer the same products globally, but price differently per country. This is the most extreme example, in which your battle pass costs maybe $20 in the U.S., but only the equivalent of $5 in India. This comes with the greatest risk of player dissatisfaction due to the lack of price and value parity between countries for the same product.

Pro tip: As the most aggressive approach, this should be the last option you experiment with; however, this approach also offers the highest degree of control when optimizing for profits within a specific country. Additionally, if you are monetizing a casual game where players rarely if ever speak with each other, you may have lower risk of localized pricing causing players to be angry at a lack of price parity between countries.

So, What Is the Best Approach for YOUR Game?

The best global P&P strategy for your game — and your players — depends on a near-infinite number of variables, from your type of game, the type of in-game items for sale, player concentrations, and so on. This means that the true best approach is to iteratively test, measure your results, and listen to your players at every step of your journey. 

My advice is to take a crawl-walk-run approach, starting at the top of the list of strategies above, and making your way down the list until your ability to drive profits clashes with your ability to keep players happy. Once you find the right global P&P strategies, the result should be a more fair experience for your players and higher profits for you.

If you’d like help with monetizing your game D2C including advice on your global P&P strategies, request a FastSpring demo or check out FastSpring for gaming.

The post A Crawl-Walk-Run Guide to Global Pricing and Packaging for Games appeared first on FastSpring.

And as our annual SaaS and software benchmarking data report has shown across the last few years, the shopping spike doesn’t just apply to physical goods like clothing, jewelry, toys, or electronics. 

End-of-year budget spending certainly contributes to this effect too.

Is your SaaS or software business ready to take advantage of the B2B and B2C spending sprees? 

FastSpring is a merchant of record for over 3500 companies that use our platform daily. By analyzing years’ worth of aggregate sales data, we have helpful insights to share about Q4 sales spikes for software and SaaS businesses.

Below, we share this year’s insights into:

• The latest U.S. trends in year-end SaaS and software sales data.
• The latest global trends in year-end SaaS and software sales data.
• How FastSpring can help you best capitalize on Q4 sales spikes.

FastSpring is a merchant of record that can help you easily grow your business internationally. We provide an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and other digital product businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and award-winning consumer support. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

Our Data Sources and Analysis Methodology

Where the Data Are From

FastSpring helps companies sell digital products in over 200 countries, but to help us keep this study consistent and repeatable, we’ve pulled sales data from eight countries around the world. 

Each year, we include the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China.

This data are specific to where the sales took place, not where the companies are located.

To show a glimpse into one specific country that’s also a large, often-targeted SaaS and software market, we also show the same trends for just the United States.

When the Data Are From

To highlight useful trend data while avoiding any major outliers skewing the data, we use aggregated data for the most current five calendar years. The data below represent sales across 2020-2024.

We also use a seasonal index to show quarterly or monthly sales against a year’s monthly or quarterly average (read more about that in the How section below).

What We Measured

FastSpring supports the sales of a vast array of digital products, including SaaS, software, video games, mobile apps, AI, and eLearning. 

To narrow this report to a specific type of industry, we’ve excluded everything but software and SaaS.

We also used U.S. dollars as the currency for all figures to make comparison easy and clear. 

How We Measured It

To establish a baseline, we calculated monthly and quarterly averages for each year. 

For a very simplified example, if four quarterly totals were $200, $200, $100, and $300, the quarterly average for the year would be $200. 

Then once we had the period average for the year, we compared each period’s actuals to that period average to get a percentage.

So for example, if Q3 shows a percentage of 90%, it means the sales total that quarter was 10% lower than the year’s quarterly average. If Q4 shows a percentage of 111%, that means Q4 sales totals were 11% higher than the year’s quarterly average. 

We then combined that data across five years to get the five year averages and avoid any outliers causing a sharp spike that might have skewed the results too much. 

US Year-End Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases

The following data show the monthly and yearly averages for U.S. software and SaaS sales across the last five years.

5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales by Month

In the U.S., the three highest monthly spikes of SaaS and software sales are in March (104%), December (105%), and as expected, November (112%).

5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter

Similarly, Q4 is the highest-performing quarter for software and SaaS sales at 106%, with Q1 at 99%, Q2 at 97%, and Q3 at 98%.

Global Year-End Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases

Global trends show even stronger spikes in November and Q4, thanks to particularly strong sales in China and Germany (more on that below). 

5YR Average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Month

Just like in the U.S., global sales of software and SaaS spiked slightly to 104% in March and 105% in December. 

But as expected, the spike in November was higher than just in the U.S., at 118% globally.

While Black Friday and Cyber Week have traditionally been anchored to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., seasonal sales surges have caught on worldwide, perhaps thanks to other countries such as Germany observing Black Friday and Cyber Monday (or even an entire Cyber Week), and China observing Singles Day on November 11 (11.11). 

5YR Average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter

Quarterly sales reflect a slightly smaller spike over the shopping holiday season when Oct.-Nov.-Dec. are averaged together, but the spike is still significant at 8%.

Because the quarterly spike isn’t as high as the single spike in November, it reinforces that software and SaaS companies should focus their marketing and sales efforts specifically in November to get the best return and see the most growth. 

5YR Average SaaS and Software Sales by Month per Country

To illustrate the changes in various countries (and give you an idea of which countries may be most worth targeting), we’ve also broken out the monthly data by country for the eight countries we included in this survey. 

Here’s what monthly software and SaaS sales fluctuations look like with five years of data for the United States (US), Canada (CA), Germany (DE), Great Britain (GB), India (IN), Brazil (BR), Australia (AU), and China (CN).

We mentioned the China and Germany shopping holidays in November above, but China also sees spikes in April and June, likely due to the 418 (April 18) and 618 (June 18) shopping holidays.

Regardless of other monthly spikes throughout the year, November is still the single highest spike for any of the eight countries we included — ranging from 112% in the U.S. and 117% in India on the low end, to 148% in Germany and 149% in China on the high end.

SaaS and software companies can capitalize on this trend with:

• Email promotions.
• Custom partner coupon codes (which they can help you promote).
• Social media campaigns.
• Upsell or bundle offers.
• Localized promotions that would especially appeal to customers in each of your targeted regions.
• A merchant of record partner for online payments that can help you easily sell your software or SaaS worldwide.

How FastSpring Can Help

Software companies that already use FastSpring know why we’re a trusted partner in the global payments space. (Check out what Avid and Stardock have to say about the great experiences they’ve had with FastSpring, or find more FastSpring customer stories here.)

But if you’re new to FastSpring (or to the merchant of record model), here are some of the reasons our customers love using FastSpring to sell their software around the world.

FastSpring Makes Global Payments Easy for You and Your Customers

Payments Localization

Making your product available for purchase in more countries is only part of taking a software business global. 

You also have to make it very easy for users to make the purchase, with the least hesitation possible.

That requires presenting a localized checkout experience — including automatic conversions to local languages and currencies, offering dozens of the most popular payment methods (which vary by region), intelligent payment routing to regional payment gateways (to help reduce failed payments), and more.

To support improved payment localization, we work closely with our customers and payment partners to understand which payment methods are the most valuable in different regions and industries across the globe. 

This has materialized in the release of UPI in India and Pix in Brazil throughout 2025. 

By the end of October 2025, we plan to improve our Pix capabilities with support for recurring payments on subscription purchases. We’re also excited to add Toss payments in South Korea, providing additional support beyond Kakao Pay in the region.

Custom Discounts, Offers, and Coupons

When you’re running campaigns for Cyber Weekend or other regional holidays, you’ll need a partner who can support customizable offers and coupons. 

This includes the ability to:

• Offer percentage discounts on individual items.
• Preapply coupons via custom links.
• Stack multiple coupons.

FastSpring already supports all of those today, but now, we’re adding the ability to apply discounts at the order level to add even more flexibility on promotional planning. Instead of offering discounts on a per-item basis, you can now apply the discount to the entire order — which translates into clearer promotions for your customers, and ultimately, more completed orders. This feature is set to launch by the end of October, with plenty of time for Cyber Weekend prep.

Robust At-a-Glance Reporting

Once you’ve launched your Cyber Weekend campaigns, you’ll need to monitor their success throughout the course of the promotional holidays. 

With FastSpring, you get access to our Welcome Dashboard, which provides an instant view of the health of your business and campaigns. This dashboard shows key metrics such as net sales, orders, subscriptions, and chargebacks — without the need for extra navigation. That makes it easy to understand at a glance how your campaigns are performing.

If you need to dig deeper, you can simply click into an individual dashboard to dig into more specifics around individual products, chargeback rates, churn rates, and even revenue recognition for the future.

With the wide variety of reports available, you won’t have to wonder how your campaigns are performing. Instead, you can glean clear insights into your campaign’s successes or make tweaks to your campaigns if something is trending in the wrong direction.

FastSpring has localized payments, flexible discounts, and visual reporting covered. Learn more about FastSpring’s global payments.

FastSpring Calculates, Collects, and Remits Global Taxes so You Don’t Have To

FastSpring doesn’t just facilitate payments — we’re a merchant of record, which means we become the entity actually selling the digital products.

That also means that we’re the ones who handle sales taxes and VAT. 

FastSpring’s team of experts stays current on global tax regulations so we can calculate, collect, and remit those taxes — so you don’t need to worry about it. 

Learn more about FastSpring’s global tax management. 

FastSpring Has World-Class Support for You and Your Users

FastSpring’s award-winning support team is standing by and ready to help both the companies that use FastSpring as their merchant of record, and the customers who purchase software, SaaS, and other digital products.

For consumer support, customers can submit an online request and get personalized assistance. FastSpring also provides a helpful list of support topics for consumers to browse, including Licenses and Downloads, Checkout and Purchasing, and more.

For software companies using FastSpring as their MoR, you can submit a request from within the FastSpring app, or simply visit our support page.

Read more about our Stevie® award for Front-Line Customer Service Team, our Globee® award for Customer Excellence in the “Achievement in Team Customer Success” category, or submit a seller or consumer support request.

Partner With FastSpring

For over 20 years, FastSpring has been a trusted payment provider that can help you easily grow your business internationally. As a merchant of record, we provide an all-in-one payment platform that includes VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, award-winning consumer support, and more — making us an excellent partner for SaaS, software, video games, mobile apps, AI, eLearning, and other digital goods businesses. 

Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

The post Cyber Weekend Benchmarking Data: 2025 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend Report appeared first on FastSpring.

Today, oeksound is a global software company in the audio and video space, with their plugins used by some hugely recognizable names in the music industry.

To learn more about how they did it, listen for the full insights into:

• How oeksound’s pricing and trial options make their products more accessible to more users.
• Why the user experience and user feedback is so important for improving and marketing plugins.
• Why a frictionless purchase process is such a key focus for oeksound to continue expanding their sales.

To hear all this and more about oeksound’s experience with taking their plugin business global, listen or watch now!

Jump to video.  |  Jump to transcript.

Podcast Full Interview: Audio

Listen online or find it on more podcast services.

Podcast Full Interview: Video

The post EP30: How oeksound Took Their Audio Plugins Business Global appeared first on FastSpring.

Once a single Black Friday shopping day, deals expanded to encompass the following Cyber Monday, with the entire weekend now referred to as Cyber Weekend. And between the Cyber Weekend halo effect, major global holidays, and end-of-year budget spends, sales in November and Q4 are stronger than other times of the year.

That creates a lot of opportunity for your SaaS or software business to optimize sales opportunities during this profitable weekend, month, and quarter. 

Because FastSpring is a merchant of record for over 3500 companies that use our platform daily, we can analyze aggregate sales data for benchmarking insights into Q4 for your SaaS or software business.

We’ve updated this annual report with: 

• Up-to-date U.S. trends in year-end SaaS and software sales data.
• Up-to-date global trends in year-end SaaS and software sales data. 
• How FastSpring can help you take advantage of those Q4 sales lifts.

FastSpring is a merchant of record that can help you easily grow your business internationally. We provide an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and other digital product businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and award-winning consumer support. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

Our Data Sources and Analysis Methodology

Where: Like last year’s Cyber Weekend data report, even though we help over 3500 companies to sell digital goods in over 200 countries and territories, we’ve pulled sales data from eight countries around the world to help us narrow it down a little. Those countries are the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China. 

Note that the data below are specific to where the sales took place, not where the companies are located.

Besides the global data, we also highlight the trends just for the U.S., since it is a large, single market that SaaS and software companies often target. 

When: Using aggregated data from the most current five calendar years helps us show insightful trends while avoiding any major outliers skewing the data unnecessarily. The data below come from 2019-2023, and we use a seasonal index to highlight each month’s or quarter’s sales against the year’s monthly or quarterly average (more on that below).

What: While FastSpring supports the sales of many different digital products including SaaS, software, digital downloads, video games, and mobile games, we’ve limited this data only to SaaS and software sales to keep it applicable to a specific industry and avoid being so broad that it isn’t helpful.

The figures shown were also all calculated in U.S. dollars for simplicity’s sake.

How: First, we calculated a monthly or quarterly average for each year. For example, four quarterly totals of $100, $200, $300, and $200 would average to a quarterly average for that year of $200. So $200 would be our baseline of 100%

Then we compared each month or quarter’s actuals to that year’s average to get a percentage. For example, if Q1 shows a percentage of 90%, that means it is 10% lower in sales compared to the quarterly average. If Q2 shows a percentage of 111%, that means its sales are 11% higher than the quarterly average. 

That data was then combined to get the five-year averages and help smooth out any stark outliers. 

US Year-End Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases

Here are the monthly and quarterly averages for U.S. software and SaaS by month and quarter.

5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales by Month

Months that stand out as particularly higher than the monthly average include March and October (tied for third place) at 2% higher, December at 7% higher, and November highest at 12% over the monthly average.

5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter

After seeing the monthly averages above, the quarterly averages offer no big surprises — Q4 comes in at 7% higher than the quarterly average.

Global Year-End Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases

Global trends see even stronger rises in seasonal sales of SaaS and software.

Here’s how late-year numbers fluctuated across the globe when including data from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China. 

5YR Average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Month

Compared to U.S. numbers, global October sales at 3% above the monthly average and December sales at 6% above the monthly average are fairly expected. 

However, November saw a much larger bump in global SaaS and software sales against the monthly average, coming in 18% higher. 

Black Friday (and subsequently, Cyber Week) was originally anchored to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday and may still seem very U.S.-focused. The SaaS and software sales data, however, show that the November sales surge is even stronger outside the U.S. for the other seven countries included in this study, with that 18% rise over the monthly average growing to 29%  when the U.S. is removed. (More on individual countries below.)

5YR Average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter

Global SaaS and software sales in Q4 were 9% higher than the quarterly average.

So while November global sales were particularly high for that month, the Q4 average doesn’t show as high of a peak, indicating that November is a particularly key month for SaaS and software companies to capitalize on.

5YR Average SaaS and Software Sales by Month per Country

To further show why sales show a much higher peak in November globally than just in the U.S., we’ve broken out the monthly averages across the eight countries we included for our global tallies. 

Here’s what monthly software sales fluctuations look like with five years of data for the United States (US), Canada (CA), Germany (DE), Great Britain (GB), India (IN), Brazil (BR), Australia (AU), and China (CN).

Spikes in China in April and June are likely due to the 418 (April 18) and 618 (June 18) shopping holidays, but as you can see, all countries in our list see a large spike in November — the highest month for all eight countries measured. 

Germany and China especially see high spikes in November, indicating that they may be particularly good geos to target for promotions that month as China observes Singles Day on November 11 and Germany observes Black Friday and Cyber Week.

This reinforces that November and Q4 are SaaS and software sales opportunity windows you can’t afford to miss out on. Take advantage of the selling season with:

• Custom coupon codes for partners to promote.
• Email promotions.
• Upsell or bundle offers.
• Social media campaigns.
• Localized promotions for targeted regions.
• Any other offers that might appeal to your target customers in your target regions.

How FastSpring Can Help

Companies already using FastSpring (such as Stardock and TestDome) recognize FastSpring as a true partner to their SaaS and software businesses.

Here are just a few of the reasons FastSpring makes it easy to sell globally in the right places, in the right ways, and at the right times — such as over Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond. 

FastSpring Makes Global Payments for You and Your Customers

It isn’t enough to just make your product available for sale in more countries — customers need to be able to purchase with a localized checkout experience that makes them feel comfortable buying. That includes automatic conversions to local languages and currencies as well as offering dozens of the most popular payment methods, which vary by region.

Learn more about FastSpring’s global payments.

FastSpring Handles Global Taxes, From Calculating to Collecting to Remitting

Because FastSpring is a merchant of record, we don’t just facilitate payments — we actually become the entity selling the product. That means we also become the entity worrying about card brand rules, regulatory rules in many geographies, risk and fraud, and even taxes. 

Our team of tax experts stays up to date on global tax regulations so FastSpring can calculate, collect, and remit taxes without you needing to worry about it. 

Learn more about FastSpring’s global tax management. 

FastSpring Supports You and Your Customers

FastSpring doesn’t just offer award-winning support to companies that use us as their merchant of record — we also handle consumer support for your customers.

Consumers can submit an online request to get personalized assistance, or they can reference our helpful support topics such as Checkout and Purchasing, Licenses and Downloads, and more.

Need assistance with your FastSpring store? You can submit a request from within the FastSpring app, or visit our support page. 

Read more about our Stevie® award, our Globee® award, or submit a seller or consumer support request.

Get Started With FastSpring

FastSpring is the leading full-stack merchant of record service for growth-stage SaaS and software businesses. Our platform serves as an all-in-one payment platform that handles everything from payment and checkout localization, to sales and VAT tax management, to customer support for end consumers, and so much more.

Learn more about how FastSpring can help you grow your business globally: Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

The post Cyber Weekend Benchmarking Data: 2024 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend Report appeared first on FastSpring.

But with international growth comes a long list of international business concerns about how to appeal to potential customers in new countries. These include how to account for local pricing and preferred local payment methods, varied buyer behaviors, how to display checkouts with local languages, and much more — all of which can be different for every country you want to sell into.

Fortunately, there are some very helpful tools and services available to assist and advise you as your business grows beyond its domestic borders. 

In this article, we focus specifically on price localization: 

• What price localization is.
• Why it’s so important to optimize pricing for local markets.
• 4 ways a comprehensive, localized pricing strategy can lead to higher profits.
• How FastSpring (a merchant of record to help you sell your SaaS or software) and DutchBasecamp (a Dutch organization supporting European startups and scale-ups in building a structured internationalisation strategy which prioritizes the right opportunities for their market expansion) can help you with all of the above and more.

DutchBasecamp has helped over 750 startups and scaleups from over 35 different countries with their internationalisation plans through the Globaliser programme, masterclasses, demand driven trade missions and other Go-to-Market programmes. Learn more about what DutchBasecamp does here. 

FastSpring is an all-in-one payments platform for SaaS, software, and digital products businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. To learn more about FastSpring, sign up to see the platform yourself, or schedule a personalized demo with one of our experts.

What Price Localization Is

Various Levels of Localized Pricing

Depending on where your business is in its journey to global growth, you might want to start with the most basic type of pricing localization, or you might want to implement a more comprehensive localized pricing strategy.

Here are some options for what various approaches look like in practice.

Basic Pricing Localization

The most basic pricing localization is as simple as currency conversion, so that buyers in different regions are presented with prices in their own local currencies. 

FastSpring utilizes automatic currency conversions to drastically simplify this process for SaaS and software companies. 

Further, you can choose which of our two pricing modes you want FastSpring to use to calculate and display pricing with. Gross Pricing Mode calculates and displays a gross price that already includes taxes and fees, so that customers are shown one inclusive price. Net Pricing Mode calculates a net price for your products and then shows taxes separately from the product price. 

In other words, would you like FastSpring to calculate a total gross price of USD$10 to serve up to buyers, and taxes are included, or would you like FastSpring to calculate a net price of $10 to serve up to buyers, and taxes are above and beyond that $10? Your choice. 

More Advanced Checkout and Pricing Localization

While currency conversion is a key part of ensuring potential customers are comfortable with the numbers they see in your ecommerce checkout, more holistic and effective pricing localization is going to take even more factors into consideration and make checkout and price adjustments as needed.

This could include:

• How buyer behavior, willingness to buy, market saturation, purchasing power, and price sensitivity can all affect the ideal price point in each region.
• A region’s preference for coupons or discounts, or for what-you-see-is-what-you-get pricing.
• Calculating and displaying local taxes (which FastSpring calculates, collects, and remits so you don’t have to!).
• Offering regional payment methods, including presenting a region’s most preferred payment method (such as iDeal in the Netherlands or PIX in Brazil) using geo-location optimization to deliver a dedicated purchase experience.
• Displaying your checkout in local languages.
• And more. 

A Strategic Approach to Pricing

Building a pricing strategy is one of the most challenging steps when scaling internationally, as the problem you’re solving might be experienced differently by your potential customers.

Here are a few quotes from DutchBasecamp participants about just how difficult this can be:

“When we started expanding to the U.S., we were not taken seriously at first because our fee was way too low. After we raised our prices, sales increased.” 

“It’s really hard to know what your product is worth in another market. Sometimes your distribution partner can act as your market expert in terms of what it’s worth. Our distribution partner was pricing it at four times more than we initially thought our price should be.”

Here are a few tips that can help you better define your own price points:

• Ask yourself: What price might your customers be willing to pay for you to take away their pain?
• Validate problem-solution fit of your product (and how it might differ in different markets).
• Research competitor price points.
• Talk to potential customers about perceived value.

Why It’s So Important to Optimize Pricing for Local Markets (With Examples)

Simply put, when buyers are more comfortable with what they’re seeing on a checkout page, they feel much more comfortable buying — and that’s when your conversion rates go up. 

One survey of 444 people found that 91% of respondents would prefer to see prices in their local currency, for reasons such as easily knowing what they’re spending or being able to stay within monthly budgets. 

Twitch is a specific example of the potentially massive benefit of localizing pricing for its users. They tested localized pricing for Mexico and Turkey (with a drastic decrease in pricing in Mexico and a drastic increase in pricing in Turkey) in May of 2021. Twitch found that subscribers were gifting 5x more subs since the change, compared to the three months prior! This led them to subsequently roll out local pricing for countries in APAC, LATAM, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Canada  to better capitalize on the power of a strategic approach to local pricing. 

Another great case study is Out of the Park Developments, a video game company that was experiencing sales issues in South Korea. The entire game had already been rolled out in the local language, but they were still seeing a sharp drop-off in sales at a particular point in their online checkout. After FastSpring brought this to their attention, Richard Grisham, former COO and current Director of Business Development at OOTPD’s parent company Com2Us, explained that it wasn’t just the pricing and language that needed changed — it was where in the checkout journey that local buyers saw the price point that was the issue, and how the language introduced the price to buyers. After correcting for this, Out of the Park Developments saw 4x growth in South Korea, just from some slight localization adjustments!

4 Ways a Localized Pricing Strategy Can Lead to Higher Profits

1. A Better, More Personalized Customer Experience

It’s easy to take for granted that a better customer experience means prospects are more likely to buy or that customers are more likely to buy more, but the statistics back that up. McKinsey research into the future of customer experience showed an increase in sales revenue of 2%-7%. Other McKinsey research showed that when companies successfully create a better customer experience, they can see revenue growth of up to 10% and cost reductions of up to 25% over two to three years.

2. Decreased Cart Abandonment Rates

According to a survey of 500 business leaders in the UK and North America, when payments experiences were localized for APAC buyers, cart abandonment was reduced by 32%! And a 2023 survey published on Statista also found that 27% of Europeans will cancel an online purchase if their preferred payment method isn’t available. Statistics like these are significant, making it clear that local pricing optimization is very important for reducing cart abandonment and increasing sales.

3. Simpler Foreign Exchange = More Local Markets

While foreign exchange (FX) can get very complicated, using a solution that manages foreign currency conversions automatically means that you can expand into more markets faster. Since FastSpring can automatically convert your base currency price into your customers’ local currencies, you don’t have to worry about managing foreign exchange rates for every different country or region you want to expand into.

4. More Strategic Pricing Data (and Easier Access to It)

Once you’re up and running with a localized pricing strategy, you can further refine it by analyzing sales data from various regions to see how you can dial in profitability even more. One way to do this is with robust and flexible reporting, such as FastSpring’s Revenue Overview dashboard, which provides a comprehensive view of revenue-related metrics filterable by transaction currency and with a map that displays net sales by country. 

Have a different business use case that you need revenue data for? All the data available on FastSpring’s Revenue Overview and Subscription Overview dashboards can also be retrieved via our Data API and handled outside the FastSpring application.

Metrics like the ones above can help you track sales trends by country or currency and make adjustments to your globalization strategy accordingly.

Local Pricing Optimization With DutchBasecamp and FastSpring

DutchBasecamp’s programs are tailored to specific industries or business models and follow a structured approach to help you identify and prioritize the right opportunities for your international expansion plan. With a focus on founder-to-founder learnings, their programs involve experts and founders from their network with internationalisation experience, that provide valuable insights on the do’s and don’ts when scaling abroad and can advise you on your next steps. Learn more about the methodology that they use here.

FastSpring can help expand your business into many different countries with our localized one-time and/or subscription pricing, payments, checkouts, and more. We’re a merchant of record that provides an all-in-one payments platform for SaaS, software, and digital products businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, consumer support, and even quotes and invoicing for B2B and sales-assisted businesses. To learn more about FastSpring, sign up to see the platform yourself, or schedule a personalized demo with one of our experts.

Local Pricing and Optimization Related Reading:

• Listen to or watch clips of Richard Grisham tell the story of how FastSpring helped Out of the Park Developments 4x sales growth in South Korea.
• Learn why FastSpring’s localized ecommerce checkout isn’t the only reason why Richard Grisham and Out of the Park Developments love working with FastSpring.
• Hear FastSpring’s CMO David Vogelpohl, also a former agency owner, explain his approach to building a global growth strategy, including iterating on marketing localization, finding regional partners in local markets, and more.
• We analyzed three years’ worth of sales data to rank both the top 20 established and emerging markets by country, including stats on growth rates, revenue, average order value, subscriptions, and more.
• Besides debit and credit cards, FastSpring accepts wire transfers, Apple Pay, SEPA Direct Debit, Alipay, Pix, and many other payment options! Get more details in our documentation about payment methods.

The post FastSpring and DutchBasecamp Present: Optimize Local Pricing to Dramatically Increase SaaS Revenue appeared first on FastSpring.

It’s also a great time for shoppers like you to take advantage of those deals! 

In case you missed it, our recent 2023 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend Report highlights how, whether your business focuses on B2C, B2B, or both, SaaS and software Q4 sales bumps are significant around the globe. 

Just as your business can take advantage of the Cyber Weekend sales strategies highlighted in our report, there are many companies offering great deals through FastSpring this holiday season for their SaaS, software, and other digital products. 

Check out the list below for deals on video editing effects and plugins, social media tools, photography software, coding and developer training, presentation design templates, and more!

Are you looking for a merchant of record to help you grow your business internationally? FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and digital goods businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or check out our platform yourself.

2023 Cyber Weekend SaaS and Software Deals

World Anvil

“World Anvil is the ULTIMATE all-in-one software for anyone who loves creative worldbuilding! Gamemasters: Keep essential lore & stats one quick click away for immersive sessions. Interactive maps help create an original setting for DnD5e, Pathfinder & 45+ RPGs. Writers: World Anvil is a writing software, novel planner & worldbuilding app! Family trees, mind mapping, and plot templates based on proven storytelling methods help you finish that novel! Publishing, subscription & monetization tools can help build your fanbase.”

Deal: “50% off your first year.”

Deal starts: December 1, 2023

Deal ends: December 31, 2023

Coupon code: FASTFRIENDS50

FxFactory

“The App Store for Video Creators – FxFactory lets you browse, install and purchase effects and plugins from a huge catalog for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects.”

Deal: “20% discount on all products.”

Deal starts: November 21, 2023

Deal ends: November 28, 2023

Coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY

SocialBee

“SocialBee is a social media management and automation platform that helps users streamline their social media marketing efforts. Its main features include an AI Copilot that generates a complete social media strategy, direct publishing on major social media platforms, a unified inbox for handling comments, mentions, and messages, and an Analytics section to track the performance of your accounts and posts.”

Deal: “Get a 70% discount for 3 months on monthly plans, or 30% off for 1 year on yearly plans.”

Deal starts: November 24, 2023

Deal ends: November 27, 2023

Coupon code: SOCIALBEEBF23

Capture One

Since Capture One was “Born out of a passion for photography, we provide photographers with the tools to easily collaborate with clients and creatives, achieve the highest quality photographs, and bring their visions to life. Starting out as a RAW image converter for Phase One cameras in 1994, our powerful photography software is built on more than twenty-five years of technical expertise. Today, we offer the fastest tethered shooting in the industry, an intuitive and efficient workflow, unparalleled image quality with support for over 600 camera and lens profiles, true-to-life color processing, and precise editing and collaborative tools.”

Deal: “Black Friday week, offering 50% on all in the store for both new and existing customers.” 

Deal starts: November 20, 2023

Deal ends: November 27, 2023

No coupon code required. 

Skylum: Luminar Neo

“Skylum is a global imaging technology company dedicated to revolutionizing the world of photo editing and creative tools. Its core product, Luminar Neo, empowers photographers of all skill levels to unleash their creativity and transform their visions into reality with advanced AI-based technologies while providing the artist with complete control over the final result.”

Deal: “An exclusive 15% discount on everything at checkout.”

Deal starts: November 13, 2023

Deal ends: November 30, 2023

Coupon code: CyberMonday15

www.iamtimcorey.com

“Software Developers are in high demand today. But how do you learn to code? You don’t need to spend tens of thousands of dollars and relocate to a college or bootcamp. With IAmTimCorey, Tim will teach you the skills you need to become a professional developer using a proven pathway and online courses. Now, you can learn to code like a pro from home.”

Deal: “Get up to 30% off developer training courses during our Black Friday Sale at iamtimcorey.com.”

Deal starts: November 24, 2023

Deal ends: November 29, 2023

No coupon code required. 

SketchBubble

“SketchBubble is one of the leading presentation design firms that specializes in pre-prepared, professionally designed and completely editable PowerPoint, Google Slides and Apple Keynote templates. We pride ourselves on our expertise in professional presentation creation and design and on our longstanding commitment towards fostering creative innovation, generating high-quality products, and maintaining uniqueness.”

Deal: “50% off everything.”

Deal starts: November 18, 2023

Deal ends: November 28, 2023

No coupon code required. 

2BrightSparks Pte Ltd

“2BrightSparks was incorporated in 2004 and has established a reputation in developing high quality, easy to use utility software. SyncBack, our class leading backup software, was first released in 2003. SyncBack is widely used for backing up and synchronizing files across different devices and platforms. It offers features like automated backup scheduling, data compression, and encryption, catering to both individual users and businesses. 2BrightSparks has built a reputation for providing reliable and user-friendly solutions, along with responsive customer support, contributing to its popularity in the data management and protection domain.”

Deal: “20% off new purchases and upgrades of SyncBackPro and SyncBackSE.”

Deal starts: November 20, 2023

Deal ends: December 1, 2023

No coupon code required. 

Muscle and Motion

“At Muscle and Motion, we believe that knowledge is power, and understanding the ‘why’ behind any exercise is essential for your long-term success. Our innovative suite of apps and online courses provide cutting-edge solutions to help you better understand how the body works and how to maximize its performance.”

Deal: “Get 50% off on all “Muscle and Motion” apps & online courses with the Black Friday Sale.”

Deal starts: November 15, 2023

Deal ends: November 30, 2023

No coupon code required. 

Moneyspire Inc.

“We are Moneyspire Inc., a financial software company founded in 2007 and based in Southern California. Our software is used by thousands of people and organizations in over 100 countries. Our mission is to inspire financial success through innovative and powerful software. We strive to provide the best solutions and services for our customers, and we are always listening to feedback and improving. Our vision is to help people better manage their money so they can achieve their full potential.”

Deal: “$20 off new user license.”

Deal starts: November 1, 2023

Deal ends: November 30, 2023

No coupon code required. 

BdThemes

“BdThemes is a WordPress Product development company creating WordPress Themes, WordPress Plugins, Elementor addons and widgets for WordPress users.” 

Deal: “Up to 75% off.”

Deal starts: November 18, 2023

Deal ends: December 5, 2023

No coupon code required. 

WPPOOL

“WPPOOL is a fast-growing software company that promises to build high-quality and high-performance WordPress plugins. We are the creator of WP Dark Mode, Google Sheets to WP Table Live Sync, Easy Video Reviews, FormyChat, and other unique WordPress products. We are always dedicated to create and craft innovative solutions for our users.” 

Deal: “This Cyber weekend, WPPOOL brings you up to 85% off on all WordPress plugins, including WP Dark Mode, Sheets to WP Table Live Sync, Jitsi Meet, and more.”

Deal starts: November 27, 2023

Deal ends: December 1, 2023

No coupon code required. 

Rocket Validator

Rocket Validator provides “Digital accessibility monitoring for busy developers. Find Accessibility and HTML issues in your large sites, in seconds.”

Deal: “30% off your first subscription period.”

Deal starts: November 23, 2023

Deal ends: November 30, 2023

Coupon code: CYBWEEK2023

InventPure Software

“At InventPure, we’re passionate about simplifying your email experience. Our Mail Backup X app is the ultimate solution for secure email backups, migrations, and archiving. Protect your data with ease.”

Deal: “Unleash email mastery with Mail Backup X! For a limited time, seize the Mail Backup X app at just $20 (originally $79), with 1-year maintenance updates. Elevate your email game today! 💻🚀”

Deal starts: November 1, 2023

Deal ends: December 31, 2023

Coupon code: THANKS2023MBX

Apparent Software

“Apparent Software creates helpful, friendly and unique software for Apple devices, complemented by first-class customer care.”

Deal: “50% off any product including ImageFramer add-ons and upgrades.”

Deal starts: November 22, 2023

Deal ends: November 28, 2023

No coupon code required. 

Astra Security

“Astra‘s comprehensive pentest platform combines an automated vulnerability scanner, manual pentest capabilities, and an all-purpose vulnerability management dashboard. With Astra Pentest, you can streamline every aspect of your pentest process – from detecting and prioritizing vulnerabilities to collaborating on remediation. Our innovative AI powered platform emulates the behavior of hackers to uncover critical vulnerabilities in your application proactively.”

Deal: “10% off across all plans.”

Deal starts: November 22, 2023

Deal ends: November 30, 2023

Coupon code: BFCM10

How FastSpring Can Help Your Business

Are you looking for a merchant of record to help you grow your business internationally? FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and digital goods businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or check out our platform yourself.

The post Holiday Specials: 2023 Cyber Weekend SaaS and Software Deals appeared first on FastSpring.

Pricing your software as a service (SaaS) can be hard enough even during the best of times, but figuring out how to dial in the right pricing to drive more revenue in times of stagflation can be even more challenging.

This article offers tips for optimizing pricing and packaging of your SaaS products in a less-than-stellar economy:

• What is stagflation?
• Using your pricing model to fight stagflation.
• Optimizing your SaaS Pricing Strategy for new MRR vs. net revenue retention.
• Test creative SaaS pricing model combinations to unlock revenue.
• Inflation isn’t flat: Vary your strategy.
• How FastSpring can help.

FastSpring helps SaaS and software companies sell around the world. Our all-in-one payment platform includes a best-in-class localized checkout, subscription management, global tax management, reporting and analytics tools, and more. Sign up for a free account or request a demo to learn more.

What Is Stagflation? 

Succinctly put, stagflation is an economic condition affected by three key factors:

• Low growth. 📉
• High inflation. 📈
• High unemployment. 📈 

This means there’s more pressure than ever on: 

• The wallets of prospects you want to attract. 🧲
• The wallets of existing customers you’d like to see upgrade. ⬆️

That’s why carefully considering your SaaS pricing model becomes crucial if you want to continue growing your business in a tight economy. 

Using Your SaaS Pricing Model to Fight Stagflation 

The easiest answer is to raise your prices, and you wouldn’t be alone if you did so.

Over a third of FastSpring’s SaaS, software, and digital goods customers raised prices in the last year. 

Interestingly, SaaS companies tend to raise prices higher than the rate of inflation.

Pulling this lever — no surprise — generally works to increase revenue, even though it can be a tricky move to make when many customers have less money to spend in a stagflation economy.

But reconsidering pricing and packaging is also one of the most under-optimized levers in SaaS. 

Why Raise Prices? Why Not Try Something Else? 

There are plenty of other levers you could pull to try to increase revenue when the market is tight, besides increasing your pricing. 

Increasing acquisition, increasing conversion rates, and reducing churn are all possible options. 

However, all of those options take a lot of work in the form of cross-functional time and energy to implement them. 

If you consider the effort and resources that need to be invested in increasing acquisition or decreasing churn through strategies such as product-led growth (PLG) or bolstered customer success efforts, it can become a slow and potentially overwhelming process, illustrated here by medium and large t-shirts:

Each of those medium and large t-shirts represent the amount of effort, resources, etc. it takes to implement PLG and customer success efforts in a way that will increase customer acquisition and decrease churn.

But product pricing changes take very little effort and can be done very quickly, as signified by the small t-shirt above. 

As Patrick McKenzie points out, it can be as simple as replacing a smaller number with a bigger number:

All things considered, changing your pricing may be the easiest, simplest change you can make when your business needs to increase revenue quickly.

Optimizing Your SaaS Pricing Strategy for New MRR vs. Net Revenue Retention: The Growth Mustache

As you consider implementing different pricing, an additional factor to keep in mind is whether you want to optimize for new MRR, or for net revenue retention — or both.

Enter the “growth mustache.” 

The growth mustache is a sideways bracket that a former CFO of mine always referred to. (I added the “mustache” descriptor, because, well, it looks like a mustache to me.) 

Growth is driven by new monthly recurring revenue (MRR), or new customers coming in, and by net revenue retention (NRR), or how much of your existing customers’ MRR or ARR you are retaining or growing. 

And if your NRR is over 100%, that’s a multiplier to your profits, but it’s also a multiplier to your valuation.

Generally, there’s operational leverage with different pricing and packaging, but you also know you’re in an environment where customers may have less money coming in and more money going out. How you change your pricing could affect your ability to gain new customers, retain and grow existing customers, or both, so keep this in mind as you start making changes.

Test Creative SaaS Pricing Model Combinations to Unlock Revenue

Once you’ve decided that changing pricing options is the route to go, there are still a lot of ways you can experiment. Pay-as-you-go plans, per-feature pricing, freemium pricing models, flat-rate pricing versus usage-based pricing, per user plans — which is right for your SaaS business?

Here are a few options to consider, for starters: 

• SKUs:
  • Platform tiered plans
  • Product(s) tiered plans
  • Persona tiered plans
  • Single add-ons
  • Bundles of add-ons
• Entitlements:
  • Features
  • Usage
  • Support
• Pricing:
  • Price
  • Recurrence
  • Geography
  • Payment method
  • Discounts
  • Free trials

Look within those options for ways you can increase your operational leverage. 

For some, that means coming up with a buyer persona-based pricing plan that has a slightly higher average revenue per user (ARPU).

For others, that means including a new add-on that allows them to raise the price more.

For others yet, it may mean switching from a flat-rate pricing model or user-based pricing to a more dynamic feature-based or usage-based pricing structure.

Track the Effects of Any Changes to Your SaaS Pricing Strategy

Carefully monitor the effects of any changes to your SaaS pricing model using reporting and analytics tools. This is to ensure you know whether the changes are helping or harming your SaaS business revenue, your number of users, and other key metrics. It’s important to know exactly which metrics are important on their own or in combination. 

For example, if the customer base shrinks a little when there’s an increase in price point, but the remaining active users are paying a higher price and generating more revenue overall, some businesses might be thrilled with that change. 

But know which changes are important to your business model. A well-established SaaS business may have very different priorities than a startup has.

Success Is Spelled With 3 S’s

Often when we think of pricing and packaging, we couple our ability to make more revenue with our ability to create something new.

Take for example the innovation S curve: We make something; it grows in adoption; it plateaus. And it’s easy to get caught in the thinking that the only way to get a new revenue stream is to create a new product entirely. 

We can decouple that thinking and start thinking that new revenue S curves can be created by changing the packaging, plans, add-ons, and more, just by giving users new ways to purchase from you and use your platform.

If we further take into consideration a usage metric based on a value metric that has overages, those new plans and add-ons themselves can increase ARPU over time. 

SaaS Pricing and Packaging Add-Ons

Add-ons offer an easier path to increasing average revenue per user for both existing and new customers on a budget, because they can pick and choose what to purchase from you — rather than paying, say, flat-rate pricing for a larger package that includes a set of features they don’t want or need.

For example, are there existing entitlements you can sell as add-ons without creating any additional engineering work? Can one of those functions be sliced out to create a new SKU without making an entirely new product? 

Add-ons come in many varieties, so you can have many different add-ons or create multiple bundles of them. 

They come with risk — because they can depress your upgrade MRR if fewer people are upgrading to a larger package — but add-ons can be a powerful driver of NRR.

To mitigate that risk, carefully measure your upgrade and downgrade rates as you begin making changes to your packages and add-on offerings.

Additionally, you can also wait to pitch add-ons until after users have signed up for your core product. Once they’re using your product and like it — and once any additional purchases they make would qualify as upsells, which helps your net revenue retention numbers — pitch them add-ons that would further enhance their experience of using the product.

This allows customers to enter your SaaS product at a lower price point, and then it can help you build your MRR and ARPU through those upsells. 

And a lower initial price point can also help you gain an advantage when going after market share, too — especially if you can undercut competitors’ pricing a little.

Creating a New Pricing Tier to Drive Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

Is it possible that the ARPU-boosting tier you need is one that exists between your existing plans? 

For example, if you have a tiered pricing model with $25, $150, and $300 options, maybe the right pricing tier to drive more revenue is somewhere in between, around $75. 

As mentioned above, if you choose to try this, track your results carefully! You may find a lot of $25 users will upgrade to the $75 plan to take advantage of a slightly bigger set of features, because while they never would have jumped from $25 to $150, a $75 option on your pricing page looks much more reasonable to them. But if you find lots of $150 users are also downgrading a tier to save money, it may not be worth it to maintain the new $75 plan. 

Segmenting SaaS Plans to Clarify the Value of Your Product and Increase ARPU

Another possibility is to segment your packaging based on very specific customer needs. 

For example, WP Engine is a managed WordPress platform that manages all kinds of sites, but they saw an opportunity to target WooCommerce users specifically, so they created a package that targeted just that audience. 

This allowed them to highlight customers’ needs within this one segment to capture their attention and get more signups. Over time, WP Engine was able to add more product value for those users, which increased WP Engine’s revenue.

Payment Frequency Increases Leverage

An annualized pricing option gives buyers the benefit of a discount by paying for a year up front, but it also gives you the benefit of reducing your churn rate while improving a customer’s overall lifetime value, or LTV. 

To further leverage this strategy, you can provide more aggressive annual pricing discounts for new subscribers or for those subscribers willing to switch from monthly fees to annual fees.

Intro period pricing can also make adoption easier for users. 

Tip: If you’re offering an Enterprise plan and the price point starts looking a little more expensive when paid for annually, try to keep that price below $5000. Many procurement departments have a policy of requiring team members to get approval for any purchases larger than that, so if you can keep prices below that threshold, it’s easier for users to easily make that purchase via credit card without jumping through internal hoops at their own companies. This can vary and isn’t a rule, but it’s a good guideline to try out.

Inflation Isn’t Flat: Vary Your Strategy

As you consider changing your SaaS company’s pricing strategy, potential customers’ willingness to pay isn’t the only thing to keep in mind. Inflation can vary a lot in a relatively short amount of time, and that variation can be further varied in every country or region. 

Financial headwinds as they relate to various geographies can mean that localization becomes more important if you offer your saas product internationally. 

Remove Unnecessary Purchasing Friction With Localization

Localization typically involves multiple aspects, including but not limited to:

• Accepting the preferred payments of the regions you’re selling into.
• Localizing the pricing. 
• Localizing the currency. 

Each of those comes with its own additional benefit not just for buyers, but for your profit margin as well.

If you’re not accepting the preferred payment method of the countries or regions you’re selling into, you could be leaving 5-10% on the table. For example, SaaS companies focusing on penetrating Europe should consider accepting SEPA direct debit payments as a payment method, since it’s a very common payment method there.

Localizing pricing converts at 2x for B2C SaaS companies. Just make sure you have a good justification for different pricing in different countries or regions, in case a potential customer manages to see more than one price.

Local currencies are easier to get approved and for the target market to understand. When new customers see your SaaS fees displayed in a currency they’re used to, it makes it that much easier for them to buy, removing the purchase friction of conversion math before making a decision. 

How FastSpring Can Help

FastSpring helps SaaS and software companies sell around the world. Our all-in-one payment platform includes a best-in-class localized checkout, subscription management, global tax management, reporting and analytics tools, and more. 

Learn how using a merchant of record can help you scale your digital goods, software, or SaaS business faster and remove many of the headaches of breaking into new markets and transacting across borders.

Sign up for a free account or request a demo to learn more.

The information in the above article was recently presented by David Vogelpohl in a webinar hosted by Cumul.io. Watch the original presentation on their YouTube channel.

Want more info on SaaS product pricing and packaging in a stagflation economy? Check out our previous presentation (and podcast episode) with account executive Tony Markov and former FastSpring CPO Kurt Smith, Pricing Strategies to Combat Stagflation.

More articles about SaaS fees and pricing you may be interested in: 

• Is usage-based pricing right for your SaaS?: What UBP is and why it may matter to your SaaS business.
• Pricing your SaaS by audience by using FastSpring: More on usage-based pricing, segment-based pricing, and user-based pricing for SaaS companies.
• Seven best SaaS pricing page examples (plus 5 SaaS pricing strategy questions to consider): Data from thousands of SaaS companies suggests the pricing page is the second most important page on your site; here are some excellent examples. 
• Subscription vs. pay per use for your SaaS product: The difference between a single-purchase model and a subscription model, and when to change your SaaS pricing model accordingly. 
• SaaS billing best practices: 10+ subscription strategies for SaaS and software companies: Learn how seven SaaS companies grew their businesses, and get eight more ideas for how to find the right pricing for your own SaaS product.

The post More SaaS Fees Pricing Strategies to Offset Stagflation appeared first on FastSpring.

• Subscription management and recurring billing 
• Checkout 
• Global payment processing
• Reporting and analytics
• Pricing
• Customer reviews

We’ll start with a deep dive into FastSpring — our end-to-end payment solution (i.e., subscription management, payment processing, and more) for SaaS companies. Then, we’ll cover five more Recurly alternatives for companies in all industries. 

In this guide: 

1. FastSpring: Subscription Management, Payment Processing, and Much More for SaaS and Software Companies
2. Chargebee: Robust Subscription Management Software
3. Chargify: Subscription Billing Solution for B2B SaaS
4. Zuora: Monetization Platform for Any Business
5. Stax Bill: Recurring Billing for Small Businesses
6. Zoho Subscriptions: Online Subscription Billing Software

FastSpring does more than just process payments and help you manage subscriptions. We also take on transaction liability for you. Request a demo or sign up for a free account to learn more.

FastSpring: Subscription Management, Payment Processing, and Much More for SaaS and Software Companies

FastSpring helps SaaS companies (and companies selling digital goods and one-time downloads) manage the entire payment lifecycle, from subscription management to remitting end-of-year taxes. 

Beyond just providing the necessary software, we’re your Merchant of Record (MoR). As your MoR, we take on transaction liability for you which means we take the lead on compliance, audits, chargebacks, and more. 

Create Custom Trial, Subscription, and Recurring Billing Models That Are Fully Compliant with Transaction Laws and Regulations

When setting up subscription plans and recurring billing models, one point that’s often overlooked is whether or not each plan is compliant with transaction laws and regulations. Most companies are aware of regulations such as GDPR and other consumer privacy laws. However, many companies are unaware of the transaction laws of each location where they do business. 

For example, in some countries (e.g., Canada and Korea) customers are eligible by law for a prorated refund if they cancel their subscription before the end of the payment period. Another example is that the Reserve Bank of India limits automatic payments to ₹15,000 (approximately $180) — anything over that amount has to be manually approved by the customer. 

These are just two examples. Considering the laws are constantly changing, it’s understandable that many companies have a hard time staying up-to-date with them. However, you could face heavy fines or be banned from transacting in a specific region if you don’t comply with these laws.

Some subscription management platforms will send out mass updates when they learn about new laws and regulations, but ultimately, your company will be held liable. 

Unlike most subscription management companies, FastSpring takes on transaction liability for you, which means our team: 

• Stays up-to-date on the transaction laws and regulations of every jurisdiction you transact in.
• Makes sure your billing models are compliant with each jurisdiction.
• Takes the lead on audits. 

In addition to helping you stay compliant, FastSpring provides flexibility for setting up trials, subscriptions, and recurring billing models. For example, you can set up: 

• Free, paid, or discounted trials of any length (with or without collecting payment details).
• Fixed, per seat, metered, tiered, and bundled billing.
• Prorated billing to accommodate upgrades and downgrades mid-cycle.
• Automatic or manual renewal.
• Upsells, cross-sells, one-time fees, discounts, and gifts.
• And much more …

Related: Manage B2B Orders in One Place with Digital Invoicing

Most pricing and billing models can be set up without code but you’ll also have access to our API and webhooks library for unique models. Our developers are also available to help you build the perfect solution and answer any questions. 

Related: An In-Depth Guide to Subscription Billing Platforms (+ 5 Options)

Customer Portal

With FastSpring, your customers will have access to a self-serve portal where they can manage their payment details and plans (e.g., upgrade, downgrade, add users, and more). 

The portal is fully customizable so it can match your visual brand, but it’s managed by FastSpring, so that your team can focus on more strategic tasks. 

Have Complete Control over Every Aspect of Checkout

FastSpring offers advanced checkout customization options so you can create a modern, intuitive, branded checkout experience that drives conversions. Here’s an overview of those options: 

• Three versions of checkout: You can choose to embed checkout directly on your webpage, have a checkout popup over your webpage, or send your customers to a fully branded web storefront hosted by FastSpring. Both Embedded Checkout and Popup Checkout are easily implemented with just a few lines of pre-written code. The Web Storefront is hosted on a FastSpring webpage (so your team doesn’t have to build everything from scratch) but you’ll have several options to customize the page.

• Customization tools: To change the color, font, and more of the checkout, you can use FastSpring branding tools or CSS overrides. To customize the buyer journey leading up to the checkout, you can use FastSpring’s JavaScript Store Builder Library (SBL). The JavaScript SBL lets you add FastSpring elements to create upsell funnels, a dynamic pricing slider, and more to optimize each purchase.
• Localization features: FastSpring supports dozens of languages and currencies around the world. You can let your customers choose their preferred language and currency or let FastSpring make the appropriate selection based on their location.

• Personalized developer support: Many payment solutions offer personalized support to their bigger clients and leave the smaller companies to fend for themselves. At FastSpring, our developers (and our entire staff) are happy to help you build the right payment solution and answer any questions you may have, regardless of your monthly revenue. 

Accept Dozens of Preferred Payment Methods Around the World

Many SaaS companies try to increase conversion rates by offering more payment methods. However, adding new payment methods is more complicated than simply adding the logo of the payment networks to your checkout screen. Each payment provider will have different regulations regarding fraud, chargebacks, privacy protection, and more before they’re willing to approve transactions with your business. 

If you’re working with international card networks and issuing banks, it gets even more complicated. For example, credit card networks are more likely to approve transactions where the payment gateway is in the same location as the buyer, which means you’ll need to work with multiple payment gateways to maintain high conversion rates. 

Most recurring billing platforms offer pre-built integrations with various payment processors, however, you’ll still have to pay for and manage each of these payment processors separately. 

With FastSpring, you automatically have access to multiple payment processors that specialize in global transactions — without any additional fees. 

You can easily start accepting dozens of payment methods within the first day of working with us. FastSpring automatically routes each payment through the payment gateway with the highest authorization rates for that location and retries failed payments using a secondary gateway. 

Related: Top 10 International Payment Gateways: An In-Depth Guide

Plus, we take the lead on: 

• Compliance with card networks and issuing banks.
• Fraud detection.
• Chargebacks.

Bonus: Let FastSpring Handle Sales Tax, VAT, and GST for You

SaaS and software companies didn’t always have to gather and remit sales tax or VAT. However, more states, countries, and other jurisdictions are writing new laws that change that. Now, SaaS and software companies have to file and remit sales tax or VAT in many jurisdictions — and many jurisdictions are enforcing these laws more strongly than before. 

Learn more: Can SaaS Companies Afford to Ignore Sales Taxes and VAT?

Some online payment processors will help you gather sales tax or VAT, however, few of them will support all the forms of consumption tax SaaS businesses run into when transacting globally. Plus, you’ll be on your own to file and remit those taxes. If you don’t file them in the correct way, at the correct time, or in the correct amount, you could face heavy penalties. 

FastSpring customers don’t have to worry about any of this because FastSpring takes the lead on calculating, gathering, filing and remitting sales tax, VAT, and GST for you. We also take the lead on any tax-related audits. 

Drill Into What Is and Isn’t Working with Built-in Reporting

FastSpring Analytics and Reporting automatically tracks key metrics regarding your subscriptions and revenue, such as monthly recurring revenue (MRR), net sales by product and region, refund rates, and much more.

FastSpring takes these metrics and displays them in meaningful reports so you always have the information you need at your fingertips. These reports are divided into two main dashboards: Revenue Overview and Subscription Overview. 

If you don’t find the report you need, you can create (and save) custom reports. Our team is also available to help you design the right report and answer any questions you may have. 

Finally, any report can be downloaded as a CSV, PNG, or XLSX file. 

Related: SaaS Billing Software: 7 Tools in 3 Categories & How to Choose – FastSpring

All Features for One Flat Rate Fee

The entire FastSpring platform is available for one flat-rate fee based on the volume of transactions you move through FastSpring. Plus, you’ll only be charged when a transaction takes place.

Reach out to our team to find the price that works for you (or sign up for a free account). 

FastSpring Customer Reviews

FastSpring currently has 4.5 stars on G2 with over 184 reviews. 

Here’s what some of our customers had to say:

If you think FastSpring could be the right Recurly alternative for your business, sign up for a free account or request a demo today.

Five More Recurly Competitors

Here are five more Recurly competitors that compare according to the following categories: subscription management and recurring billing, checkout, global payment processing, reporting and analytics, pricing, and customer reviews.

Chargebee: Popular Subscription Management Software

Chargebee is a popular choice for setting up customer subscription plans. Chargebee offers built-in integrations with many different types of software including ERPs, accounting software such as QuickBooks, and more. 

Here’s how Chargebee compares in each category: 

• Subscription management and recurring billing: This is what Chargebee is best known for. They offer a lot of different pricing and billing options, and customers report that the platform is easy to use.
• Checkout: Chargebee offers two versions of checkout — in-app (their version of popup checkout) and full web page. The full web page is still in beta. 
• Global payment processing: Chargebee only deals with subscriptions and recurring billing, which means you’ll need additional software for payment processing, taxes, revenue management, and more.
• Reporting and analytics: Chargebee offers a built-in reporting feature with filters to help you find the report you need. 
• Pricing: You can use the Chargebee platform for free for the first $100k in revenue you earn. After that, they offer three plans ranging from $249/month to $549+/month. 
• Customer Reviews: Chargebee has 4.6 stars on G2 with over 560 reviews. You can read those reviews here.

Learn more: 8 Best Chargebee Alternatives and Competitors (And How They’re Different)

Chargify: Subscription Billing Solution for B2B SaaS

Chargify is in the process of merging with SaaSOptics to help you automate subscription management, revenue and expense recognition, and SaaS metric tracking all from one platform. 

Here’s how Chargify addresses each category: 

• Subscription management and recurring billing: Chargify focuses more heavily on recurring billing for B2B SaaS companies, however, they do offer several options for subscription management. They advertise the ability to support any ecommerce go-to-market strategy. 
• Checkout and global payment processing: Chargify integrates with Stripe Billing for checkout and payment processing. 
• Reporting and analytics: When Chargify and SaaSOptics complete the merger, you will have access to a full suite of reporting and analytics tools. 
• Pricing: Chargify’s pricing plans start at $599/month for companies earning $75k per month in billings. If you earn more revenue or want access to all features, you’ll have to contact their team.
• Customer Reviews: Chargify and SaaSOptics as Maxio has 4.2 stars on G2 with over 288 reviews. You can read those reviews here.

Zuora: Monetization Platform for Any Business

Zuora supports in-person and online subscription businesses. While they can support B2B and B2C transactions, customers suggest that they’re better suited for monthly rather than annual billing models. 

Here’s an overview of Zuora’s services: 

• Subscription management and recurring billing: Zuora offers 50+ pricing models for subscriptions, products, and services. They also offer custom invoicing features for B2B transactions. 
• Checkout: Zuora partners with Checkout.com to provide secure payment collection. 
• Global payment processing: Zuora offers 35+ prebuilt payment gateways. 
• Reporting and analytics: Zuora offers a library of pre-built financial reports and a report builder where you can customize reports.
• Pricing: You can reach out to their team for pricing details.
• Customer Reviews: Zuora has 3.9 stars on G2 with over 258 reviews. You can read those reviews here.

Stax Bill: Recurring Billing for Small Businesses

Stax Bill (formerly Fusebill) is one piece of the Stax Payment solution. Stax Bill offers simple automation for recurring billing and invoicing. They integrate with popular CRMs including Salesforce and HubSpot, so you can manage payments from either place. 

Here’s how Stax Bill measures up in each category: 

• Subscription management and recurring billing: Stax Bill offers many of the common recurring billing model options, however, they emphasize flexible catalog management and their self-serve customer portal. 
• Checkout: Stax Payments includes a pre-built shopping cart and options for creating your own.
• Global payment processing: Stax Bill offers payment gateway integrations with multiple global payment processors, however, you’ll be charged extra for these services. 
• Reporting and analytics: Stax Bill provides 40+ pre-built reports that automatically update in real-time. 
• Pricing: Stax Payment pricing starts at $99/month for small businesses. 
• Customer Reviews: Stax Bill has 4.2 stars on G2 with over 90 reviews. You can read those reviews here.

Zoho Subscriptions: Online Subscription Billing Software

Zoho Subscriptions is one part of the Zoho platform. If you’re already using the Zoho platform, this could be a good option. However, users who are new to the platform often find it difficult to navigate. 

Here’s how Zoho Subscription compares in each category: 

• Subscription management and recurring billing: Zoho Subscriptions offers more flexibility than many solutions when it comes to how you set up your free trials. For example, like FastSpring, you won’t have to collect payment details. In regards to subscription and recurring billing models, Zoho offers many of the same options as other tools.
• Checkout: Zoho Checkout is another part of the Zoho ecosystem. Depending on the plan you choose, these two services may be priced separately.
• Global payment processing: Payment processing is also offered through Zoho Checkout. 
• Reporting and analytics: Zoho Subscriptions comes with a built-in reporting tool that shows you key metrics such as total subscribers or total churn. You can also view financial reports such as a break-even sheet. 
• Pricing: Zoho Subscriptions is free for the first 20 subscriptions, then it starts at $49/month. However, you’ll need to keep in mind that any additional services you need, such as Zoho Checkout, are priced separately. 
• Customer Reviews: Zoho Subscriptions has 4.4 stars on G2 with over 42 reviews. You can read those reviews here.

Instead of managing a large software stack, let FastSpring handle the entire payment lifecycle for you. If you think FastSpring could be the right Recurly alternative for your business, sign up for a free account or request a demo today.

The post Top 6 Recurly Competitors and Alternatives: An In-Depth Review appeared first on FastSpring.