Key Christmas Marketing Dates

Christmas seems like it was only several months ago but make no mistake about it. As a marketer for eCommerce businesses, you need to create a strategy in line with key Christmas marketing dates to reach out to your audience using the right message.

Every holiday represents an opportunity to drive sales and increase revenue. From Thanksgiving, Christmas to New Year’s Day, the spirit of celebrations and gift-giving boosts the sales for all online and physical stores.

Get ahead of your Christmas marketing campaign this 2022 and plan your business year right! Read this blog to learn the dates that you need to focus on throughout your calendar.

Begin Christmas Marketing Planning in July And Start Promoting in September 

For big brands that need to secure prime social media and website placements, planning starts early in the year. Thus, you need to start to identify the key dates to build the best Christmas marketing program for your business.

Notably, most Europeans start their Christmas shopping by the end of October. Being in the market and front of mind before this point stands important for any business looking for a merry Christmas.

One of the biggest mistakes is not giving marketing enough time to work its magic. At Clue, we see a big difference when clients launch campaigns earlier with top of funnel brand content, before transitioning to content focused on sales activation.

Christmas Marketing doesn’t mean direct sales

As marketers in the field of eCommerce, the stages of planning, implementing, and designing a Christmas marketing program don’t just focus on direct selling. If you jump directly into the activation of sales inside your platform, you only get a limited number in the conversion stage of your funnel.

Thus, you need to start to nurture the customer relationship with a brand awareness campaign for both your new and existing audience. Your campaign’s success directs your business towards the growth of your following in social media and eCommerce.

Hence, if you start planning your Christmas marketing campaign before the end of July allows businesses to buy enough time. When we speak of planning, it refers to brainstorming, idea creation, asset growth, media plan research, platform design & development, and other preparation depending on your niche.

Christmas Marketing Implementation Needs to Start in September

As soon as you finish creating your Christmas marketing plan, make sure to start running all your available promotions before the end of September. You need ample time to finalize everything before the approval and implementation stage.

Notably, media costs don’t spike within September or before October strikes. Thus, all expenses needed for pay-per-click, FB & Google ads, and other forms of paid advertisements remain low.  

The Benefits of Early Planning Your Christmas Marketing Plan

Check these reasons why planning and implementing your Christmas marketing works efficiently and productively for your business.

Christmas Shopping Starts During Cyber Week 

Notably, Cyber week kicks off Christmas sales. Your Christmas campaign needs to a well underway before Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

According to an e-commerce industry report in European cities in 2019, Black Friday began on the 29th of November and kick-started Christmas spending. The peak of sales volume became evident in the first week of December. 

So, Europeans change their spending habits by shopping earlier and taking advantage of popular sales. The savings and discounts they get during the week entice more purchases throughout the period.

Online Christmas Shopping Remains on The Rise 

Most businesses in Ireland and across other European countries who utilize online platforms for selling don’t wait until the last week before Christmas. As customers shift online for their purchases, they prefer convenient and hassle-free shopping.

So, more Europeans choose to shop online instead of visiting and walking in a physical store. From the options they see on your eCommerce platform, users see better and affordable choices without experiencing a crowd during the holidays.

For marketers, it works as an opportunity to redesign and develop a seamless online experience for users. Platforms with easier check-out processes and more delivery options encourage customers to trust your product offerings.

Overcome the Tough Competition in Christmas Marketing

The festive period during Christmas implies a higher level of customer attention for products and services offered. If you start implementing your Christmas marketing promotions early, it gives you to stand out amidst the tough competition.

Therefore, it takes a few touchpoints for new customers to gain trust. So, planning early before your competitors increase your share of voice in the market.

The organic attention from your target audience decreases the cost of ads in your social media and eCommerce platforms. Consequently, if you choose to advertise at the busiest sales period, more competition for placements and a higher cost-per-click occurs.

Try to distribute your advertising so your brand becomes more visible in the months before. Make sure to perform Christmas marketing actions when competitors still hold back as it appears too early for them.

The 20 Important Christmas Marketing Dates

October 1st: Buy British Day

Initiated in 2014, Buy British Day celebrates businesses and goods from Britain, encouraging customers to shop nationally.

As a British retailer, the day works as an important date to prepare for. Businesses find information and even support for their marketing with Best of European countries especially Ireland.

2nd Monday of October: Thanksgiving Day (Canadian-Europeans)

Implementing your holiday promotions and ad copy by this date generates early sales and even reservations. So, established businesses experience conversion rates start to increase from Thanksgiving onward.

Also, express your thankfulness to your customers from the previous months as a retail or merchandise store. Doing so allows your potential customer to know that you capitalize on customer loyalty and gratitude.

Discounts and promotions for past customers signal your thankfulness. Try to include customer loyalty programs inside your Christmas marketing campaign.

31st of October: Halloween & End of Daylight-Saving Time

Known as ‘The Day of the Dead, the whole world celebrates the iconic Mexican holiday to remember the relatives who are no longer with us. Most kids and teens dress up with a spooky or animated costume with a ‘trick or treat’ during the day.

Also, the day marks the end of daylight-saving time. At 1 AM, the clocks move backward 1 hour from the standard time where people gain more sleep hours before the busy & festive days ahead!

Likewise, eCommerce businesses need their deals and offerings published on their social media and other advertisement platforms. As everyone’s favorite spooky day, scary theming and terrifying deals help your business get its treat whether you offer fake fangs or not.

11th of November: Singles Day

While North Americans and Europeans remember the sacrifices of their armed forces, Asian countries celebrate their single people. Thus, your marketing campaign needs to focus on people without a significant or romantic other.

By partying and engaging in intense consumerism, retailers have truly capitalized on loneliness for this one. People, proud of the fact that they’re single, reward themselves with record-breaking spending of over $14.3 billion on Amazon and eBay.

If your product reaches Asian markets, advertising on this date works probably essential. And who knows, it starts to catch on in the western hemisphere. Give single people pride by giving them a discount on your product or service.

11th of November: Remembrance Day

Every year the nation unites to remember the contribution of military, civilian servicemen, and women involved in both World Wars and later conflicts. Offering products or discounts that remember great people boost your sales.

Try to make your logo apt for the occasion and maybe add a poppy to it. It hints to your target audience to send a small gift or token to the relatives of the people who sacrificed their lives for the nation’s cause.

24th of November – Thanksgiving Day (Last Thursday in November)

In November 2020, various newspapers published in the United Kingdom and other European countries celebrated this day along with the Americans. As an American ‘Thanksgiving’ tradition, it means the time for roasting turkey, sweet potato, and pumpkin pie.

Perhaps, your business offering some special autumn/winter promotions boosts sales and revenue among the target market. Most people start looking up online stores during this day or days before Black Friday so why not start offering a three-day sale?

25th of November: Black Friday (The Day Following American Thanksgiving)

In November 2020, news reports say that that bargain hunters stayed away from the high street, preferring to shop for offers online. Therefore, marketers expect the sales to go on an all-time high.

This shopping day stands as one of the best performing dates for most eCommerce stores as they get peak conversion rates for the entire year. However, missing out on Black Friday sales feels bad.

Once limited to the United States of America and its thanksgiving tradition, Black Friday now exists worldwide due in part to its role in eCommerce literature and the rise of online shopping.

However, Black Friday retains brick and mortar connotations as Cyber Monday always follows and contrasts with Friday. It acts as a beacon for the Holiday Season to gauge whether or not your holiday season marketing efficiently works.

Prominently, most businesses wait until before Black Friday to start working with Christmas offers. So, planning early means that your store wakes up ahead of other eCommerce store owners.

26th of November: Small Business Saturday (The Day Following Black Friday)

Originally, Small Business Saturday started as an American shopping holiday held during the Saturday after US Thanksgiving during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. This Saturday always falls as the last one in November, so it falls between November 24th and November 30th.

The initiative to celebrate the success of small businesses started in 2010, and 2011. The US government unanimously passed a resolution in support of the day, and officials in all 50 states participated.

Why not plop another shopping holiday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday? American Express gives credit for this date as they began an advertising campaign around the shopping day in 2010.

Since its inception, Small Business Saturday steadily gained traction because of the immense amounts of holiday shopping conducted on this consumer frenzied weekend.

Thus, it works as a perfect opportunity to promote your small business and even guilt customers into purchasing to “celebrate” the day.

28th of November: Cyber Monday (The Monday following Black Friday)

Primarily, Cyber Monday works as a marketing term for eCommerce transactions on the Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It started around 2012 when retailers encouraged people to shop online.

Most eCommerce retailers in Europe and Ireland consider the celebration as a digital follower of Black Friday. It stands as the day where massive discounts and huge deals on gadgets and devices become available.

Also, most products available on Cyber Monday are exclusive to online stores. Thus, this Monday event tests your holiday season marketing due to the ever-growing number of online-first shoppers.

30th of November: Giving Tuesday or St. Andrew’s Day (The Tuesday Following Cyber Monday)

The Tuesday following Cyber Monday needed its own name too. After the surge of buying for friends, family, and one’s self for the past 4 days, Europeans and Americans see the following day useful to bring us back to more noble intentions.

Most citizens dedicate Giving Tuesday to donating to charities and rallying around causes as a curious conception occurring after Thanksgiving. As an eCommerce store, try to offer discounts and deals for those who send early Christmas gifts to medical institutions, hospitals, orphanages, or other care facilities.

As Scotland’s official national day, the 30th of November commemorates the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle. Other cities in Canada and Great Britain celebrate this day as a day of thanksgiving and vacation.

Notably, Scottish and other Europeans wear the best kilt and limber up for that ceilidh dance. This dance commemorates the gratitude to the Creator and thankfulness for what their neighbor/community did for them while finishing the evening off with a deep-fried mars bar.

3th of December: Small Business Saturday (Exclusive for UK-based businesses)

Exclusively for the UK, Small Business Saturday works with grassroots and non-commercial campaigns. It highlights small business success as you encourage consumers to shop locally and support Christmas marketing among small businesses in their communities.

10th of December: National Salesperson Day

Why not run an internal poll for the salesperson of the year & give a prize to the nominated winner among your staff? It works as a day to reward your hardworking team members who dedicated time and effort for the last 11 months.

12th of December: Green Monday (The Second Monday of December)

Another colored eCommerce date, Green Monday was coined by eBay to describe their best sales day in December. The date falls on the second Monday of December.

Generally, the day marks the last date where users opt to ship their orders at a standard time. So, the day has incredible online sales as the shipping fee cost stays low or the same before its increase after a week.

Make sure your business involves with the demand as it boosts organic traffic among online platform that offers the best deals. During this day, most customers place their orders as a Christmas gift for their friends or relatives without an extra fee in shipping outside their state, city, or country.

14th of December: Free Shipping Day (Mid-December)

An entertainingly simple title denotes this eCommerce holiday’s purpose: free shipping before Christmas Eve. The intelligently manufactured holiday offers late online shoppers’ extra incentive to make their orders in time for Santa’s arrival.

Hundreds of retailers officially participate via www.freeshippingday.com. However, trying to add a free (or discounted) shipping option on your platform’s checkout process similarly works.

When creating promotions for this date, keep your warehouse’s shipping deadlines in mind. Once the shipping deadlines lapses, promotions, and ad spend reins in as conversion rates drop.

Businesses simply need to offer free shipping on this date and ample advertising of the offer to build awareness. Also, remove any free shipping code as this makes the whole checkout process longer.

15th of December: Ground Shipping Day

Most customers choose to send their gifts to their loved ones through ground shipping as it costs lower or even free for some businesses. Notably, Ground shipping day works as the last day where users have the option to ship packages by ground and have them arrive by Christmas Eve or sooner.

This date stands as an excellent reminder for your customers with an affordable shipping fee before the heavy and busy days before Christmas Eve. So, you need to let them know ahead of time via social media or other advertisement means.

Many retailers offer free UPS or FedEx shipping for any purchase made on this day. It works out well for many people where procrastinators have until that day to start shopping, and store owners get the extra sales.

24th of December: Christmas Eve (Super Friday or Panic Friday)

December 24 denotes both the holy night before Christmas and the last available day for Christmas shopping. Likewise, the frantic and busy working people need last-minute gifts while the prepared relax and look happily towards the festivities.

As the busiest spending period of the year, the day before Christmas still trends for online spending increasing year on year. If you run an eCommerce store, make sure you got everything well in place beforehand.

25th of December: Christmas Day

The grand finale. The big Kahuna. The Holy Grail. The eCommerce Ecstasy. The Retailer Orgasm. Festive family time. Spiritual contemplation time. Christmas Eve’s Darling Sister.

Most people wind down to take a well-deserved break. However, try to catch the attention of these resting citizens with a nice customer loyalty program as a token of gratitude for the purchases they made this holiday season.

Just make sure to prepare with your marketing team for this date to enjoy this holiday with the ones you love. Enjoy this day as a celebration for your marketing team who made an effort in running your business promotions throughout the year.

26th of December: Boxing Day

Conversion rates increase among your target audience, especially Canadians, Americans, and some Europeans, from this date till January 1st. After Christmas, the 26th of December works as the right time to ramp up your holiday promotion spend.

So, you better have holiday promotion spend and profit for your advertisements and special deals inside your digital platform. Currently, this special date serves shoppers looking to gift themselves with post-Christmas sales and promotions.

Commonwealth nations used to participate in the tradition of gifting servants and tradesmen with “Christmas boxes” from their masters, employers, or customers. Now, eCommerce stores don’t miss this day as it stands big for sales.

31st of December: New Year’s Eve

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year’s Eve (also known as Old Year’s Day or Saint Sylvester’s Day in many countries), the last day of the year, is on 31 December. In many countries, New Year’s Eve is celebrated at evening parties, where many people dance, eat, drink, and watch or light fireworks. Some Christians attend a watch night service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year’s Day, 1 January.

Use New Year’s Eve to promote new products, offers, and services. However, try to scale back with your ad spend and other promotions to garner profit near your expected revenue. Otherwise, your business just pays for another episode of inefficient advertising without any profit at all.

1st of January: New Year’s Day

The New Year invigorates us with freshness. Offer your customers a fresh start with deals and promotions. Hangover cures sell on this date.

However, the holiday season officially ends with New Year’s Day, signaling a scaling back in eCommerce conversion rates as people look at their credit card bills.

Although we all usually start the New Year in the worst way possible with a banging headache from the past busy & festive days, the day also connotes the start of the January Sales. Some retail therapy helps your business start right!

Book Your Strategy Call for Your Christmas Marketing Strategy Today!

Don’t miss the opportunity! Prepare your Christmas marketing strategy for every holiday season by incorporating advertising strategies into your plan now so you can dominate this year’s retail game!

With so many celebrations to choose from, how do you decide which holidays to highlight throughout your marketing year?

Start with a list that most resonates with your unique brand and audience. Your customer base responds best not only to great promotions and sales but also to content that tells the story of the brand they love!

Are you struggling to keep up with digital marketing trends? If that’s the case, let’s talk! 

Our team helps your marketing and business development team to implement the best eCommerce holiday marketing strategy to help you grow and reach new heights in Q4!

Let us take a deep dive into your business. We’ll formulate a customized plan of attack to help you crush your growth goals and get the best value from our call regardless of whether or not we move forward together.

 

Keyword: Christmas Marketing