Any retailer needs to plan carefully around the key holidays and events throughout the year. With marketing companies thinking up more holidays for people to market their businesses on (we’re being a bit cynical here) it can be hard to keep up.
However fear not, we’ve got the ultimate guide to the key calendar dates for ecommerce retailers and Amazon sellers in 2024 to help you through things.
Planning for the key eCommerce dates in 2024
The first step in getting the most out of these dates is not just about stocking up on products; it’s about strategic and meticulous planning. Understanding and preparing for significant shopping events well in advance is crucial. These dates range from global events like Black Friday to more niche, local celebrations. However, the real art lies not just in identifying these opportunities but in crafting a well planned marketing and social media strategy ahead of time to effectively capitalise on them.
Keeping things well planned has helped one of our email marketing clients DOUBLE their sales on key holiday dates in 2023. The same applies across your organic, paid and social marketing strategies too.
Darren Ratcliffe
Selecting the right ecommerce dates for marketing in 2024
In choosing the right holidays for your brand, think of it as targeting your products with the most receptive audience – segment your data. Not every holiday will be relevant to your brand or resonate with your target customers. It’s about understanding which events align with your brand’s identity and customer interests.
This selective approach is key to ensuring that your efforts are not only impactful but also cost-effective. Remember, each event you partake in should echo the values and appeal of your brand, thereby fostering a stronger connection with your audience. By not doing this you are going to waste time, money and resource and be less efficient.
Strategically budgeting for 2024 and your key ecommerce marketing events
Overspending can lead to unnecessary financial burden (waste), while underinvestment might result in missed opportunities. The goal is to strike a balance – invest sufficiently in the events that promise the highest return on investment, ensuring that your marketing efforts are both efficient and economically viable. But don’t forget your marketing between the other dates.
Your annual sales calendar will unavoidably have peaks and troughs, but focussing on keeping those troughs as shallow as possible will be less stressful for you. Think about email marketing flows to keep engaged with your customers through the year. Use their birthdays and anniversaries as good touch points to incentivise them to come back and purchase from you.
What revenue were generated over the key ecommerce dates in 2023?
The holiday season, encompassing key dates like Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas, plays a significant role in ecommerce sales. For 2023, despite economic challenges such as inflation and rising interest rates, the National Retail Federation projected U.S. holiday sales to grow between 3% and 4%, reaching between $957.3 billion (£785 billion) and $966.6 billion (£793 billion).
Global ecommerce sales for Black Friday in 2023 were predicted to reach $70.9 billion (£58 billion).
Source: BigCommerce Thanksgiving and Black Friday Report
Key points for the average retailer regarding Q4 sales:
- The fourth quarter, which includes key dates like Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas, accounts for about 26.8% of total annual retail sales across all sectors.
- This percentage can be higher in certain sectors:
- 34.9% of hobby, toy, and game sales.
- 34.7% of jewellery sales.
- 31.1% of electronics sales.
What are the key ecommerce dates in 2024 in the United Kingdom?
Here are the key eCommerce marketing dates for the UK… we’ve added a few in for good fun too!
January
- New Year’s Day (1st)
- Dry January (1st-31st)
- Veganuary (1st-31st)
- National Shortbread Day (6th)
- Burns Night (25th)
- Chocolate Cake Day (27th)
February
- LGBT History Month (1st-29th)
- World Nutella Day (5th)
- Chinese New Year (10th)
- Valentine’s Day (14th)
March
- St David’s Day (1st)
- International Women’s Day (8th)
- Mother’s Day (10th)
- St Patrick’s Day (17th)
- First Day of Spring (20th)
April
- April Fool’s Day (1st)
- Easter Monday (1st)
- Siblings Day (10th)
- St George’s Day (23rd)
May
- May Day (1st)
- Star Wars Day (4th)
- World Cocktail Day (13th)
- National Biscuit Day (29th)
June
- Pride Month (1st-30th)
- Father’s Day (16th)
- Summer Solstice (20th)
July
- Wimbledon Starts (3rd)
- World Chocolate Day (7th)
- School Holidays Begin (24th)
August
- International Beer Day (2nd)
- International Cat Day (8th)
- Book Lovers Day (9th)
- National Dog Day (26th)
September
- Back to School (1st)
- National Chocolate Milkshake Day (12th)
- Autumn Begins (22nd)
October
- Black History Month (1st-31st)
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month (1st-31st)
- International Coffee Day (1st)
- World Mental Health Day (10th)
- Halloween (31st)
November
- Movember (1st-30th)
- Guy Fawkes Night (5th)
- Remembrance Day (11th)
- Black Friday (29th)
December
- Cyber Monday (2nd)
- Christmas Jumper Day (13th)
- Christmas Day (25th)
- Boxing Day (26th)
- New Year’s Eve (31st)
What are the key ecommerce dates in 2024 in the United States?
October
- Columbus Day (9th)
- Canadian Thanksgiving (16th)
- Boss’ Day (16th)
- Get to Know Your Customers Day (19th)
- National Cat Day (29th)
November
- Day of the Dead (2nd)
- Daylight Savings Change (5th)
- Election Day (7th)
- Veterans’ Day (11th)
- Fast Food Day (16th)
- Thanksgiving Day (23rd)
- Small Business Saturday (25th)
December
- National Cookie Day (4th)
- Hanukkah Begins (7th)
- Green Monday (9th)
- National Free Shipping Day (14th)
- First Day of Winter (21st)
- Festivus (23rd)
- Kwanzaa (26th – Jan 1st)
January
- Polar Plunge (1st)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day (15th)
- Compliment Day (24th)
- Data Protection Day (28th)
February
- National Pizza Day (9th)
- Chinese/Lunar New Year (10th)
- Super Bowl Sunday (11th)
- Galentine’s Day (13th)
- Mardi Gras (13th)
- President’s Day (19th)
- Love Your Pet Day (20th)
Before we finish, there’s one last point on the key ecommerce selling dates…
This list isn’t exhaustive, we could give you double if not triple the number of dates. There are regional holidays and events (especially in the United States) that will be relevant and your business may get more out of marketing around the European football events or for some businesses more than the traditional Christian dates.
Do your research and let us know in the comments below – what is the best time of year for you for peak sales!
Download your FREE 2024 marketing planner
To help you get your planning off to a good start, we’ve created a free planner for you, we’ve even added in all the dates above for you.
