Need some help planning for your 2022 eCommerce holiday sales? Look no further than our calendar for a guide to biggest and most important sales days of the year to come, along with a few tips to help you maximize your revenue, and make them all holidays to remember.
Shopping days like Black Friday and Mother’s Day have never been more important for merchants in this era of Covid-19 and increasingly fierce competition, so strap in for your guide to all the biggest (and busiest!) days of the year to come.
January Sales – 1-31 January
January sales have been a fixture of shopping in Britain for more than a century, but times have changed from the 1980s when “around 400 people fought their way into Harrods’ television department” and caused a melee.
While retailers are still trying to clear excess stock and encourage people to get back in the shopping mood after Christmas, nowadays online sales are the best way to sell and shop. Be prepared to offer discounts and position shopping as a way to lift people’s spirits amid the January blues.
Lunar New Year – January 31 – February 6
Though this holiday is often erroneously referred to as Chinese New Year, plenty of countries across Asia celebrate the Lunar New Year, and so do expatriates from those countries across the world. Our top tip for Lunar New Year success is to avoid making this naming mistake and therefore alienating some potential customers. In 2022, it’s the year of the tiger, so you might want to tip your cap to that fact with your Lunar New Year branding.
Valentine’s Day – Monday, 14 February
Love is in the air at this time of year, love for bargains that is. Jewelry, chocolates, perfume and flowers are what come to mind when shopping for Valentine’s Day but really, can’t anything be a gift for a loved one? Even a gym subscription can say “I love you” when marketed with care.
International Women’s Day – Tuesday, March 8
Do donate to women’s charities and show some actual appreciation to the women in your work to mark International Women’s Day. Don’t offer a discount to women, which shows you only think of this day as a chance to make more money. You could offer to donate a portion of earnings on certain product lines to an appropriate charity, just don’t try and cash in on this holiday.
St. Patrick’s Day – Thursday, March 17
Now this is a holiday where you can go all-in on sheer, naked consumerism. While St. Paddy’s (NOT St. Patty’s as some Americans call it) originated in Ireland, it has truly gone global and (Covid notwithstanding) you’d be hard-pressed to find a major city anywhere without some form of green celebration on March 17. Go big on green, consider offering specially branded items (for sale or as giveaways) and lean into the idea that this is a fun holiday of excess.
Easter – Sunday, April 17
This year, the Easter weekend will run from Good Friday on April 15 until Easter Sunday on April 17. The Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs are most commonly associated with this holiday when it comes to shopping/. However, as it’s a school holiday in many places around the world, it’s also a chance to sell the products and services that adults buy to keep their kids entertained. That means video games, books, toys, vouchers for the cinema and other days out, and anything else to keep children occupied.
World Book Day – Saturday, April 23/Thursday, March 3 (UK)
Dreamt up by the party animals at UNESCO in the mid-90s, World Book Day (or World Book and Copyright Day, to give it the full and less fun title) celebrates, you guessed it, books. That doesn’t mean you have to be an Amazon, Barnes & Noble or second-hand bookstore to cash in. You could use your social media channels to promote great reads about whatever sector you’re in, donate books to charities or maybe it’s even the perfect time to launch your very own book. Just don’t try and write it the night before.
Mother’s Day – Sunday, May 8 (US/Australia)/Sunday, March 27 (UK)
They say mother knows best, so she should only get the best on Mother’s Day, aka Mothering Sunday. Almost everyone has a mother, grandmother or mother figure in their lives, so you’ll be casting a pretty wide net with your Mother’s Day promotions. Mother’s Day can creep up, so do your customers a favor by dropping them an email about a week out from the big day to remind them they need to get a gift.
Wedding Season – It depends!
In much of the Northern Hemisphere, the wedding season is in the summer from May to August but it varies around the world based (largely) on the weather. In northern Vietnam, it’s generally autumn, the most pleasant time of year to be outside in terms of temperature. Wedding season is a big chance to cash in, as spending on lavish parties has soared over the years. It’s a time for B2C and B2B sales, as wedding planners will also be shopping.
Father’s Day – Sunday, June 19 (US/UK)/Sunday, September 5 (Australia)
There’s no getting around it: Father’s Day is not as important as Mother’s Day. Some might say living in a patriarchal society makes every day Father’s Day, but I digress. That being said, it’s still a big shopping day with opportunities to push products aplenty. Especially ties. You can (almost) never go wrong with a tie. Simiarlay to Mother’s Day, lots of people can forget Father’s Day until the last minute, so make sure ordering from your site is a seamless experience, though it should always be.
Summer Holidays – July-August
School’s out for summer! Just like at Easter, this means the pressure is on for parents to keep their children entertained, but not just for a long weekend, for three whole months! It’s a good time to ramp up your marketing efforts, particularly on social media, as desperate parents look for anything, please God anything, that can distract their little angels for a precious few hours.
Back to School – August-September
What goes up must come down and after the summer holidays comes back to school season. Kids need uniforms, stationery, backpacks and whatever the hip new accessory is. It’s also a great time for repeat purchases as your customers will need the same things they did in 2021, just in a bigger size perhaps. So make use of your customer data to personalize their shopping experience and make getting what they and their kids need easy.
Halloween – Monday, October 31
Spooky season, fright night, Hallow’s Eve, whatever you call it, Halloween is a chance for some good old-fashioned fun. So get into the spirit of things by tricking your store out with some Halloween decorations. You could maybe even have some fun by adding some spooky SKUs, like Wrigley did back in 2017.
Singles’ Day – Friday, November 11
While Singles’ Day (so named for the 11/11 date) originated in China, it is beginning to take off in importance worldwide. As with many of these shopping holidays, what started as a single day has evolved into several days worth of mega sales. Customers expect deep discounts and in a crowded field, it can be tough to stand out.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday – Friday, November 25/Monday, November 28
It may say November 25 up there, but we all know the BFCM sales start way sooner than the final Friday in November. It’s the biggest time of year for selling online and if you don’t get prepared in good time, you will regret it. Get your marketing, promotions, discounts and social media messaging on point well in advance and you’ll be able to compete in what has become a cutthroat market.
Christmas – Sunday, December 25
It’s not just Santa and his elves who have to deliver at Christmas, so do you!
