From popular holidays like Valentine's Day to major campaigns like BFCM, tracking important dates is key to maximizing engagement and sales. Between limited-time offers, seasonal products, and celebratory social posts, don't miss out on these promotional opportunities - check out our ecommerce calendar to master your 2024 marketing strategy.
January is the perfect time for a fresh start - and the perfect opportunity to bring new customers into the fold. Shoppers are looking to spend their holiday gift money and redeem their gift cards. They might also be searching for products that will help them achieve their new year's resolutions, which is especially beneficial for brands in the food, fitness, and wellness industries.
Consider running a campaign that introduces the value of your brand to new customers and how your products can solve their needs. You can include reviews to build trust and encourage them to make their first purchase. However, you definitely shouldn't neglect your existing customers - thank them for their ongoing loyalty with extra reward points or a surprise coupon code.
January 1st: New Year's Day
Help customers work toward their resolutions with the right offer at the right time, such as a site-wide discount or an introductory product bundle. New Year's resolution campaigns present a huge opportunity for customer acquisition.
Other noteworthy dates: Martin Luther King Day (January 15th), National Compliment Day (January 24th), Australia Day (January 26th)
February is Black History Month, the perfect time for highlighting Black voices and experiences. Partner with a non-profit organization, share personal stories, and commemorate Black history with your customers.
By now, customers might have started falling behind on new year's resolutions or even abandoned them - and your brand - completely. Encourage them to come back and make another purchase by asking them to leave a review in exchange for a discount code or reminding them about their reward points. Re-engagement campaigns are key to preventing customer churn.
February 10th: Lunar New Year
2024 is the year of the dragon, which symbolizes prosperity, innovation, and opportunities for growth. Consider offering a limited-time discount for customers in Asian countries that celebrate, including China, Korea, and Singapore.
February 14th: Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is a great opportunity for cross-selling and up-seling by offering gifts and special product bundles. Brands should also highlight shipping dates so customers can celebrate with their loved ones right on time.
Other noteworthy dates: Super Bowl Sunday (February 11th), Mardi Gras (February 13th), Presidents' Day and Family Day (February 19th)
March is Women's History Month, where brands amplify the stories and accomplishments of women throughout history. Female-owned businesses should take the opportunity to share their brand story and inspire their customers.
March also marks the beginning of spring. Celebrate with exclusive promotions and sales on seasonal products. Keep re-engaging your customers with a limited-time points multiplier and other enticing offers via your loyalty program.
March 8th: International Women's Day
Elevate women's voices and celebrate their achievements by partnering with a non-profit organization and/or spotlighting the women who work on your team. You can also tell personal stories to build deeper connections with your customers.
March 31st: Easter
Easter is a great time to run special deals on spring apparel and accessories, home goods, and more. If you want to have a little fun with it, hide an extra "Easter egg" discount code in your next email campaign or social post.
Other noteworthy dates: Mother's Day (March 10th, UK), St. Patrick's Day (March 17th), Holi (March 25th)
April marks the start of Q2, the perfect time to dig deeper into your marketing strategies and make some changes based on your findings. For example, are customers engaging with your campaigns? Are they coming back to make more purchases? Are they leaving reviews, sharing referrals, and spending reward points?
Refresh your reviews strategy by switching up which reviews to feature on your homepage or updating your topic filters based on popular search terms. Try adding - or removing - new loyalty activities or rewards to increase engagement. You might even edit the content of your review request and point expiration emails to see what drives more conversions.
April 1st: April Fool's Day
Get into the spirit of April Fool's by sharing a fun social post or running a surprise flash sale. Be careful about teasing customers with a fake product launch or new feature - they'll likely be disappointed when they find out it wasn't real.
April 22nd: Earth Day
Instead of offering deals and discounts, celebrate Earth Day by highlighting your brand's commitment to environmental causes. This might mean talking about your recyclable packaging, ethical production processes, or charity work.
Other noteworthy dates: Eid al-Fitr (April 10th - 12th), National Pet Day and National Sibling Day (April 11th), Arbor Day (April 26th)
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, where brands spotlight the accomplishments of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. They might also partner with Asian influencers or share relevant stories of their own.
May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. Brands can share personal stories, provide resources, and talk about the importance of understanding and de-stigmatizing mental health. This can also be an opportunity for health and wellness brands to curate product bundles for practicing self-care.
May 12th: Mother's Day
Celebrate mothers with special sales and product bundles. Consider creating gift guides to cross-sell and up-sell, and leverage user-generated content like reviews and photos that feature mothers in your marketing campaigns.
May 27th: Memorial Day
Offer special promotions and discounts for veterans, and consider donating a portion of the day's profits to veteran organizations. Brands can also give customers the option of turning their reward points into donations as well.
Other noteworthy dates: Cinco de Mayo (May 5th), National Teachers' Day (May 7th), Victoria Day (May 22nd, Canada)
June is Pride Month, where brands celebrate the LGTBQ+ community by sharing their stories, championing their rights, and emphasizing the importance of equality and inclusivity. Some brands also create pride-themed variants of their best-selling products and donate a portion of the proceeds to charity.
As the school year ends and summer begins, customers are starting to travel, engage in hobbies, and spend more time with their families. Brands across every industry can take advantage of this by running site-wide sales, creating product bundles of summer essentials, and refreshing their reviews and loyalty strategies for the new season.
June 16th: Father's Day
Celebrate fathers with special sales and product bundles. Consider creating gift guides to cross-sell and up-sell, and leverage user-generated content like reviews and photos including fathers in your marketing campaigns.
June 19th: Juneteenth
Also known as Freedom Day, brands recognize the significance of Juneteenth by partnering with Black influencers and Black-owned businesses or donating a portion of the day's proceeds to organizations championing racial equality.
Other noteworthy dates: World Environment Day (June 5th), National Best Friends Day (June 8th), International Children's Day (June 9th)
July is a month for celebrations and mid-summer festivities, from Independence Day to Canada Day to graduation ceremonies. Brands can join in by offering special discounts and product bundles tailored to families and recent graduates, including snacks, tech gadgets, apparel, and more.
To get into the celebratory spirit, brands should also build on their community. Brand communities are key to connecting with customers, leading to repeat purchases and increased LTV. This might look like sharing customer photos and videos on social media, running special events for VIP shoppers, and offering limited-time bonuses like extra points for every successful referral.
July 1st: Canada Day
Celebrate Canada Day with free shipping and exclusive discounts for Canadian customers. Canadian businesses or brands with Canadian team members can also share their own photos of local parades and festivals.
July 4th: Independence Day
Similar to Canada Day, celebrate Independence Day with free shipping and site-wide sales for American customers. Consider creating product bundles suited for barbecues, picnics, parades, and parties.
Other noteworthy dates: World Chocolate Day (July 7th), Amazon Prime Day (July 23rd), International Day of Friendship (July 30th)
August, for many brands, is when back-to-school shopping is in full swing. It's especially lucrative for brands in the apparel, stationery, and tech industries. Consider offering discounts and starter product bundles to help students ace the beginning of the academic year.
August is also when many brands start preparing in anticipation of BFCM, the biggest shopping event of the year. By now, brands should be planning their promotional strategy, including what their offer will be, how to promote it, and how to keep customers coming back after it's over. They should also be evaluating their website and purchase flow to ensure customers have a great shopping experience and a positive impression of the brand.
💡Check out our complete guide to BFCM for ecommerce brands to learn more.
August 9th: Book Lover's Day
Even if you don't sell books or complementary products, you could still share a reading list of books related to your products, books that inspired your brand's founder, or books your team is currently reading.
August 17th: National Non-Profit Day
If you work with or donate to any non-profit organizations, now is the perfect time to talk about them. Share their mission and vision with your customers, and encourage sales by donating a portion of the day's profits to charity.
Other noteworthy dates: International Cat Day (August 8th), World Photography Day (August 19th), International Dog Day (August 26th)
September marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15th to October 15th. Brands participate by amplifying the voices and accomplishments of Hispanic Americans, partnering with Hispanic American influencers, and sharing their own stories.
It's also the start of fall and a new school year, meaning customers are looking for deals on dorm essentials, home decor, and cozy products like blankets and socks. Brands should promote product guides and bundles, run seasonal sales, and offer extra points so customers can earn more rewards in advance of BFCM.
September 2nd: Labor Day
Honor the social and economic achievements of your hard-working customers by offering special discounts and promotions. It's also a great time to thank customers for their loyalty with a targeted email campaign and bonus discount code.
September 8th: National Grandparents Day
Celebrate grandparents with special sales and product bundles. Consider creating gift guides to cross-sell and up-sell, and leverage family-themed UGC in your marketing campaigns to create fuzzy feelings of comfort and nostalgia.
Other noteworthy dates: Father's Day (September 1st, Australia), Oktoberfest (September 21st), World Tourism Day (September 27th)
October is often when brands start to ramp up their holiday promotions early, letting Halloween naturally lead into BFCM, and later, into the final sales of the year. Customers are starting to finalize their holiday plans, meaning they might already be searching for the best gifts, party necessities, and travel essentials.
Brands should be in the final stages of getting ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This means setting benchmarks, locking in their tech stack, stress-testing their website, refreshing their content and copy, planning their social and email cadences, and finalizing their loyalty perks. They can also start building anticipation for the sale, such as by sharing reviews of their best-sellers and hinting at the amazing discounts to come.
💡For more inspiration, check out our guides for building effective reviews and loyalty strategies during BFCM.
October 31st: Halloween
If you don't offer Halloween-related products or anything that can be used for DIY costumes, you can still play trick-or-treat with your customers by offering limited-time points multipliers and bite-sized discounts.
October 31st: Diwali
In preparation for Diwali, families usually decorate their homes and shop for clothes and accessories to wear during the festival. Home goods and apparel brands can offer relevant discounts and curate festive product bundles.
Other noteworthy dates: Rosh Hashanah (October 3rd), World Mental Health Day (October 10th), Thanksgiving (October 14th, Canada)
November is when the holiday season officially begins as brands expect huge surges of customers and shoppers anticipate the biggest deals of the year. Customers are likely planning to both make purchases from their favorite brands and take advantage of significant discounts to try out new ones.
During this time, customers see an influx of marketing emails in their inboxes and social posts in their feeds, meaning brands need to get creative to get their attention - and their business. Use liquid variables in email subject lines, remind customers about their reward points, and post UGC like photos, videos, and reviews to leverage the power of social proof.
💡Short on time for BFCM planning? Check out this article on six quick strategies for making the most of the holiday season.
November 11th: Veterans' Day
Like Memorial Day, offer special promotions and discounts for veterans, and consider donating a portion of the day's profits to veteran organizations. Brands can also give customers the option of turning their reward points into donations.
November 29th: Black Friday
Shoppers spent a record US $9.8 billion on Black Friday in 2023, while ecommerce sales increased 8.5% year over year. Consider starting your BFCM sale early: 35% of customers started shopping during the week leading up to Thanksgiving.
Other noteworthy dates: Election Day (November 5th), Thanksgiving (November 28th), Small Business Saturday (November 30th)
December is the most festive month of the year, when the holiday season reaches its peak and customers buy last-minute gifts for their loved ones. Many customers also have more time to travel, enjoy their hobbies, and spend time with their families as they take their holiday PTO or finish school for the year.
Brands can surprise and delight customers with twelve days of deals, cross-sell and up-sell with product bundles and gift guides, and encourage repeat sales with seasonal variants of their best-selling products. They should also prepare to refresh their website and and lock in their marketing tech stack in anticipation of the new year.
💡Check out this article on best practices for building an effective tech stack.
December 2nd: Cyber Monday
Last year's Cyber Monday sales totaled US $12.3 billion, the biggest online shopping day to date. Paid search resulted in the most conversions, driving 27% of online sales, while BNPL (buy now, pay later) accounted for $940 million in sales.
December 3rd: Giving Tuesday
Highlight non-profit organizations and charitable causes that align with your brand values. Consider donating a portion of the day's profits to charity or giving customers the option of turning their reward points into donations.
Other noteworthy dates: Christmas and Hanukkah (December 25th), Kwanzaa and Boxing Day (December 26th), New Year's Eve (December 31st)
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