It’s that wonderful time of year again. As Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, college football starts this weekend. In fact I haven’t turned on my air conditioning in the last 4 days. This really is the most most wonderful time of the year.
It’s also the busiest time for e-commerce stores all over the world. For most e-commerce websites this is the time of year to be going all in on their marketing efforts. Last year the 8 weeks before Christmas accounted for 24% of all e-commerce sales. And this year it’s supposed to grow.
So to help you prepare for the impending storm, we’ve created a calendar spreadsheet to help you remember all the dates to be focussing on and our suggestions on how to leverage it for your e-commerce growth.
Your Holiday Calendar for E-Commerce
|
Date |
Holiday |
Notes |
|
Sept 2 |
College Football Starts |
The weekend is the unofficial end of summer. College football kickoff is a great way to promote back to school sales. |
|
Sept 4 |
Labor Day |
Time for those end of summer clearance sales, get the inventory you want out to “make room for the new” |
|
Sept 7-10 |
NFL Season Begins |
For many Americans this is an unofficial holiday, if you sell any licensed apparel or can find a tie-in it’s a great weekend to use it. |
|
Sept 20 |
Rosh Hashanah Begins |
The Jewish New Year is an early kickoff to the holiday season. |
|
Oct 13 |
Friday the 13th |
This year we have a Friday the 13th in October so get spooky. Also – it’s 2 weeks before halloween so your shipping can be rolled in |
|
Oct 31 |
Halloween |
It’s the unofficial start of holiday shopping, and halloween generates nearly $7 billion in annual sales. |
|
Nov 11 |
Veteran’s Day |
First holiday in November, and military discounts can help you drive some early November sales. |
|
Nov 23 |
Thanksgiving |
Send out your last Black Friday Emails |
|
Nov 24 |
Black Friday |
Last year almost $2 billion in e-commerce sales. Push hard for your slice. |
|
Nov 25 |
Small Business Saturday |
If you’re a small e-commerce business now’s the time to capitalize on both. |
|
Nov 27 |
Cyber Monday |
This is the big one. Your emails this whole weekend need to be on point. There’s thousands of people vying for the inbox |
|
Nov 28 |
Giving Tuesday |
Consider finding a charity that you agree with, donate a portion of your sales to them. Promote it to your customers so that their spending can have positive impact. |
|
Dec 12 |
Hanukkah Begins |
Hanukkah emailing should be done in line with your Christmas promotions. It ends 2 weeks earlier so account for it in shipping. |
|
Dec 14 |
Shipping Day |
It’s 10 days before Christmas, and most standard shipping will get there in time. So create a sense of urgency that this is the last day to ensure delivery by Dec 23rd |
|
Dec 15 |
Free Shipping Day |
Packages shipped today will probably get there on Christmas Eve. This is your last chance to create that urgency with your visitors and shoppers. |
|
Dec 21 |
Winter Solstice |
Winter is here. Holiday stress is in full swing. Promoting e-gift cards for those last minute shoppers to stuff stockings and get something for grouchy Aunt Betty |
|
Dec 23 |
Festivus |
It’s the holiday for the rest of us. Digital purchases, gift cards, etc should be pushed, and grievances aired. |
|
Dec 24 |
Christmas Eve |
This is your last shot for gift cards, software downloads, or digital subscriptions. Use it wisely. |
|
Dec 25 |
Christmas Day |
Chill out and get ready for tomorrow. |
|
Dec 26 |
Boxing Day |
Want to get rid of the straggling stock in your inventory? This week is gold for bargain shoppers, and a good way to clean out the old inventory in time for tax season. |
|
Jan 1 |
New Year’s Day |
Kick off 2018 with a bang by running some inventory specials around the products you need to get rid of. |
Tis the Season
It may seem like the holidays are long way off, but that’s not the case. It can seem hard to get in the holiday spirit in August, but just turn on some Harry Connick Jr. and turn the air conditioning up. Planning your marketing calendar is vital to the success of any company. This is our busy season.
So let’s haul out the holly, think of turkey and pumpkin pie, and get marketing!