Holiday Calendar 101: eCommerce Dates and Themes You Need to Know

Having a holiday sales strategy is important for online sellers, however developing a more in-depth strategy that focuses on each unique holiday can result in much higher sales numbers.

The holiday shopping season, beginning in late October and lasting until early January, is composed of three major holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition to the “big 3”, a few e-commerce related days have gained popularity over the years, including: Boxing Day (December 26), Free Shipping Day (December 18) and Super Saturday (December 19).

Here’s what you need to know in order to fully leverage each holiday and increase your sales this year:

Halloween – October 31

Did you know that 40% of shoppers begin their holiday shopping before Halloween?

This holiday is all about candy, parties, greeting cards, and most of all costumes. The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts a decline in Halloween spending in 2015, likely due to people economizing by reusing Halloween costumes and decorations. To combat this, make sure you offer economy-friendly options for those seeking deals.

Thanksgiving – November 26

This holiday is all about giving, and not paying attention to it may result in you giving up sales! Popular items during the holiday include themed kitchen and household accessories, and lawn & garden, but the major things to look out for as an e-tailer are Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

With Cyber Monday (November 30) now the largest online spending day of the year, and Black Friday (November 27) the 2^nd largest, these two important days deserve an entire post of their own. Check out 5 Ways to Make History on Cyber Monday & Black Friday for more info.

Christmas – December 25

One of the most popular holidays of the year, for online sellers Christmas = $$. While some sellers focus only on the US market, this major holiday is popular around the world and results in amazing online sales in other global markets including Canada, the UK and Australia.

You’ll want to focus on three major groups when developing your Christmas sales strategy:

• Early Birds – these are shoppers who buy gifts months in advance and sit back while the remaining shoppers scramble to find the best deals. 40% of shoppers begin shopping before November; make sure to have your inventory and online store ready so you don’t miss out on this group.
• Last Minute Shoppers – having forgotten all about the holiday season, these shoppers are less picky and may be willing to buy “whatever they can get”. In fact, surveys show that up to 1 in 5 men don’t buy presents until Christmas Eve! As a seller, this is your chance to off-load some unsold inventory and less popular items.
• Post-Holiday Shoppers – these shoppers are either looking to take advantage of huge sales due to unsold products, or eagerly want to spend some of that holiday cash they received as presents. Make sure to retain some inventory and perhaps even launch a “post-Christmas” sale to take advantage of this group.

For more information on how to plan, build and execute your entire marketplace seller strategy, download the Marketplace Sellers Guide.

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