When should stores apply for holiday inventory funding?

Store owners: fund holiday stock before the rush.

Call 877-FUND-654 Email info@afterfirstmca.com How it worksA person replies within one business day.

How big is the holiday peak for each kind of store?

For most store types, December is the top month and January or February is the bottom.

Each figure sets a month against that store type's own yearly average, with 100 as a typical month, using Census sales for 2021 to 2025.

Store type	Top month (index)	Low month (index)
Clothing stores	December: 157.6	January: 70.7
Sporting goods stores	December: 140.0	February: 75.9
Beer, wine and liquor stores	December: 131.4	January: 84.2
Gift, novelty and souvenir stores	October: 146.1	January: 63.9
Ecommerce and mail-order sellers	December: 128.8	February: 84.9
General merchandise stores	December: 124.7	February: 85.3
All retail and food services	December: 112.1	February: 86.2

Method behind the numbers

We started from the Census Bureau's monthly retail sales file, using rows without seasonal adjustment. Each month was divided by its year's monthly mean, and the five years 2021 to 2025 were averaged. The sales are Census figures; the ratios are ours.

When does holiday stock have to be paid for?

Stock for the holidays is usually ordered and paid for months before it sells. That timing gap is what holiday inventory funding covers.

Window	Months	What happens	What statements show
Order and pay deposits	July to September	Orders placed, supplier deposits due	Normal deposits, rising supplier debits
Stock arrives	September to October	Balances due, extra staff hired	Supplier and payroll debits peak
Selling season	November to December	Most of the year's sales	Deposits at their high
Post-holiday low	January to February	Sales drop, returns come back	Deposits at their low

Gift shops have two peaks

Gift, novelty and souvenir stores show an October peak of 146.1 as well as 131.0 in December. A gift shop may need stock money as early as summer, so the first order is in before October.

Liquor stores and the December month

Beer, wine and liquor stores run close to average most of the year, then jump to 131.4 in December from 104.5 in November. January falls to 84.2. A liquor store's stock order is large and short, so the payment plan matters more than the amount.

Ecommerce sellers and platform payouts

Ecommerce and mail-order sales climb to 116.5 in November and 128.8 in December. Platforms pay out net of fees and reserves, and funders read those payouts, not gross sales. The ecommerce page covers how.

Planning for January

After the peak, clothing sales fall to 70.7 on the index. A funding firm quoted by an industry news site called this a holiday hangover that lasts until February; that is practitioner opinion. Plan how payments will be covered through the low months before you sign.

Which statements will a funder see from a store?

A funder starts with recent bank statements, and a store's September statements look nothing like its January ones.

This is a practitioner view, not measured data: a funding firm writes that underwriting leans hardest on the three latest statements. For a clothing store applying in September, those months are June to August, at 96.4, 99.0 and 103.5 on our index. That is close to an average stretch, not a slow one.

When funders get busy

Industry news reports, all practitioner accounts, say funding requests for holiday stock bunch up in September and October. An older report says underwriting slows in late November. Another says applications dip in the week before and after major holidays. These are opinions, not data, and no two funders keep the same pace.

Holdback or fixed payment for holiday stock

A holdback takes a share of each day's card sales, so it rises in December and falls in January. A fixed debit stays the same in January, when sales sit at their low. The holdback guide explains how each is set. For holiday inventory funding with a sharp peak, ask each funder which one its offer uses, and set the offers side by side on the comparison sheet.

Stores already paying an advance

An open advance does not rule a store out. Depending on the file, a second position, a consolidation, or holding off until the season ends may fit. Name each one in your application.

The 2026 backdrop

The National Retail Federation forecasts 4.4% growth in 2026 retail sales, and it usually issues its holiday forecast in early November. One analyst firm estimates holiday sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5%; that is an estimate, not official data. Census's advance report shows August 2026 sales at nonstore retailers up 9.9% from a year earlier, before adjusting for prices.

FAQ

What does holiday inventory funding cost?

You pay back more than you receive, and that difference, plus any fees taken out, is the cost. Funders set their own terms, and the desk lists each offer side by side. Applying is free.

Where does credit come into a store's file?

Ask how any credit review works before you sign. Each funder sets its own steps, and the desk can put your questions to the funders on your file.

When should a store send its holiday request?

August or September, if you can. That leaves room for funder questions before the fall rush practitioners describe. We cannot promise a reply time, since each funder moves at its own pace.

Can a store with an open advance get holiday inventory funding?

Often, yes. Name each open advance in your application, as the payments show on the statements regardless. Options range from a second position to a consolidation to holding off until January.

Should the payment be a holdback or a fixed debit?

It depends on how sharp your peak is and what each funder offers. A holdback follows sales down in January, while a fixed debit does not. Compare both on the same sheet before you choose.

Next step

Store owners can Call 877-FUND-654 Email info@afterfirstmca.com that names each open advance, or put a timing question to the desk first. Retailers can read the retail page and the inventory page for more on how funders read store files.A person replies within one business day.

Call 877-FUND-654

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau Monthly Retail Trade Survey (sales by kind of business, NSA): store sales used for the peak-and-low table, 2021 to 2025.
U.S. Census Bureau, advance monthly retail and food services sales, August 2026: nonstore retailers up 9.9% from August 2025, not adjusted for prices.
National Retail Federation, 2026 annual retail sales forecast: the 4.4% growth forecast and the timing of the holiday forecast.
The Grayson Company, 2026 U.S. Holiday Retail Outlook: analyst estimate of 2.5% to 3.5% holiday sales growth; opinion, not official data.
deBanked, Funders prep for the holiday rush (2016): practitioner account of fall demand and a post-holiday slowdown; opinion.
deBanked, October kicks off the rush for holiday inventory stock (2010): older practitioner account of an October rush and a late-November slowdown; opinion.
deBanked (2018), Funding a deal near the holidays?: an account of fewer applications near holidays; opinion.
Fundnode (June 2026), timing article on MCAs through the year: the source for the three-month statement view quoted here; one firm's opinion.

Cost, credit, speed and stacking

Cost: Measure holiday stock money against what the shelves will sell by the end of the season. Any stock left in January still has to be paid for out of the total.
Credit: A holiday rush does not alter the credit steps a funder follows. Have them laid out in writing before the order deadline arrives.
Speed: We cannot promise holiday funds by a set week. Supplier invoices with order dates show a funder when the cash is actually needed.
Stacking: A store may already carry an advance from last season. Name it, because a second debit during a slow first quarter is where trouble starts.

Send one file.
See what fits.

Start a merchant cash advance application, or write to the desk. Afterfirst MCA is not a lender.