5 mistakes brands make during peak season (and how to avoid them)
Peak season is when the biggest chunk of your wholesale income is won or lost (and for many of the brands I work with, this is the Christmas season, which happens between July and the end of December) and it's also when everything speeds up and it's easiest to trip over your own feet. The orders, the admin, the making, the festive markets, and normal life all land at once, and in the rush it's very easy to make small mistakes that quietly cost you sales.
The good news is that the most common peak season wholesale mistakes are also the most avoidable, once you know what to watch for. After enough years of doing this, I see the same five slip-ups again and again, so here they are along with how to sidestep each one, so your Q4 brings in the orders instead of the overwhelm.
Mistake 1: Leaving your outreach too late
The single most common festive mistake is starting too late. It feels natural to ramp up your Christmas selling when the shops start to feel festive, but by then the buyers have already spent the bulk of their seasonal budgets. Retail buyers research and order festive stock through the summer and early autumn, so pitching in November means arriving after the money has gone.
Avoid it by getting your festive range in front of buyers far earlier than feels comfortable. Have your collection, your deadlines, and your outreach ready by late summer, and you catch that budget while it's still there to be spent.
Mistake 2: Chasing new shops and forgetting the ones you have
When you're trying to grow, it's tempting to pour all your peak season energy into landing brand new stockists. Meanwhile the shops who already know and love your products sit quietly, waiting for a reason to reorder that never comes.
Your existing stockists are your quickest festive wins, because they've already sold your products before and just need a timely nudge. Before you chase anyone new, reach out to the shops you've already got with what's new, what sold well last year, and your order deadlines. Reorders are the easiest, warmest income available to you in a busy season, so don't leave them on the table while you hunt for strangers.
Mistake 3: Making it hard to order
A lot of peak season sales are lost not because the buyer said no, but because ordering was too much like hard work at their busiest time of year. An out-of-date wholesale catalogue, slow replies to their questions, an unclear minimum order, or a fiddly reorder process are all it takes for a keen buyer to give up and spend their budget elsewhere.
The fix is to remove the friction before the rush hits. Make sure your catalogue is current and shows your bestsellers clearly, reply quickly during the busy weeks, and make reordering as simple as a two-line email. And include your phone number for those buyers who prefer to send a quick What’sApp or give you a call. When ordering from you is effortless, more buyers get over the line.
Mistake 4: Panic discounting
When a quiet week hits in the middle of peak season, the instinct is often to slash prices to get things moving. It feels like action, but discounting in a panic trains your stockists to wait for a deal, eats into the margin you worked hard for, and quietly signals that your full price was never quite real.
Instead of dropping your prices, add value or urgency. A clear order deadline, an early-bird incentive planned in advance, or simply a reminder that your bestsellers tend to sell out all move buyers without cheapening your brand. Protect your pricing, because a busy season built on discounts is a lot less profitable than it looks.
Mistake 5: Running yourself into the ground with no plan
The final mistake is trying to hold the whole season together in your head and sheer willpower. Without a plan, peak season becomes a daily scramble, you burn out by December, and you walk into January exhausted with nothing lined up for the new year.
Give yourself a simple plan instead. Map your key dates, schedule your wholesale newsletters in advance, and set your cutoffs so you're working to a rhythm rather than reacting to chaos. Prep a little of your spring range while you're at it, so January starts with something fresh rather than an empty diary. A calm, planned peak season sells more than a frantic one, and it's far kinder to you.
Get a steady hand through peak season
Peak season is so much calmer when someone's handing you the right thing to focus on each week rather than leaving you to work it all out alone. That's exactly what my newsletter is for.
Every week I send one practical wholesale action straight to your inbox, the doable things that keep your festive selling on track and your stockists warm, whether you're selling to shops in the UK, Europe or the US. It's a simple way to stay a step ahead through the busiest, most profitable time of your year.
Sign up to my newsletter here and let's make this your calmest, best peak season yet.
Therese x
FAQ:
What are the most common wholesale mistakes at Christmas?
The big ones are leaving your outreach too late, chasing new shops while ignoring your existing stockists, making ordering too much like hard work, panic discounting when it goes quiet, and trying to run the whole season with no plan. Each of them is avoidable with a bit of preparation.
When should I start selling wholesale for peak season?
Earlier than feels natural. Retail buyers research and place festive orders through the summer and early autumn, so aim to have your range, deadlines and outreach ready by late summer. Pitching in November usually means arriving after buyers have spent their seasonal budgets.
Should I discount to boost sales during peak season?
It's rarely the best move. Panic discounting trains stockists to wait for deals and eats into your margin. Adding value or urgency, like a bundle, an order deadline, or a planned early-bird offer, moves buyers without cheapening your brand or your pricing.
How do I avoid burnout during the festive wholesale season?
Plan ahead so you're working to a rhythm rather than reacting. Map your key dates, schedule your newsletters in advance, set your cutoffs, and prep a little of your spring range early. A planned peak season is calmer, kinder to you, and usually sells more than a frantic one.
About the author
I’m Therese, and I’m a wholesale mentor for product-based businesses. I’ve spent the last 18 years in the home and gift industry, helping hundreds of founders move from "guessing" to getting their products onto the shelves of major retailers like Selfridges and Liberty. If you’ve just finished your mid-year review and realised there’s a gap between where your wholesale business is and where you want it to be, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Click here to see how I can help you build your wholesale strategy inside Sales Growth Lab.
