Free Retail Calendar 2023
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January
You’d think that after the peak shopping season in December, things calm down in January … wrong!
First of all, think of the New Year’s resolution shoppers. The area of health, fitness and mindfulness extends beyond an average gym membership: Dry January, Veganuary, and so on.
Second, lots of shoppers are on the lookout for deals to redeem gift cards (or money) they got for Christmas. This can be an excellent opportunity to introduce your brand to new customers.
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- January 1: New Year’s Day
- January 1–31: Dry January
- January 1–31: Veganuary
- January 2: Science Fiction Day
- January 6: Epiphany
- January 10: World Hindi Day
- January 13: National Sticker Day
- January 15: National Hat Day (USA)
- January 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- January 19: Get to Know Your Customers Day
- January 21: National Cheesy Socks Day
- January 22: Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit)
- January 23: National Pie Day
- January 26: Australia Day
- January 27: Chocolate Cake Day
February
Everyone in ecommerce knows that February is the month of love, mostly dedicated to Valentine’s Day. Do you have products in your portfolio that could work as Valentine’s gift for a special someone? If yes, go ahead and prepare offers for your top sellers.
A quick look at your eCommerce calendar tells you that about a week later people all around Europe (and elsewhere) celebrate Shrove Tuesday. It is also known as Mardi Gras or Carnival. Costumes, makeup, and everything in between sells like hotcakes in the second half of February!
- February 1–28: LGBT History Month (UK)
- February 4: World Cancer Day
- February 5: World Nutella Day
- February 9: National Pizza Day (USA)
- February 14: Valentine’s Day
- February 17: Random Act of Kindness Day (USA)
- February 20: Love Your Pet Day (USA)
- February 18–21: Carnival
- February 21: Shrove Tuesday
- February 22: Ash Wednesday
March
Alert: March is party time! Spring break season is mostly limited to the USA, but Saint Patrick’s Day goes way beyond Ireland. You know what they say: “Everyone is a little Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day”.
Check your retail marketing calendar and start planning. Stock up on travel products, party decorations (in green) and hangover cures.
Pro Tip
There is more: you can empty leftover Valentine’s stock. How? Offer discounts or coupons for shoppers who are looking for Women’s Day (or Mother’s Day) gifts. The crossover between the holidays is bigger than you think!
- March 1: World Compliment Day
- March 2: World Book Day
- March 8: International Women’s Day
- March 17: Saint Patrick’s Day
- March 19: Mother’s Day (UK)
- March 20: First Day of Spring
- March 22: Ramadan Start
- March 25: International Waffle Day
April
By April, the Christmas sugar rush is long forgotten, and guess what: it’s time for a new one! Easter time is perfect for chocolate (eggs, bunnies), Easter decorations, and everything else that fits into an Easter basket.
Up your PPC advertising game with Easter-related keywords. For better organic sales, add them to your listings. Prepare Easter-themed ads: Easter eggs and bunnies never go out of style at this time of year.
Pro Tip
Look ahead! School is not over yet, but that’s exactly why this is the best time to start preparing for the back-to-school season in August. Review your inventory and start planning your campaigns.
- April 1: April Fool’s Day
- April 7: Good Friday
- April 9: Easter Sunday
- April 10: Easter Monday
- April 11: National Pet Day (USA
- April 19: Bicycle Day
- April 21: National Tea Day (UK)
- April 22: Earth Day
- April 22: End of Ramadan
- April 23: St George’s Day (UK)
May
Spring (or even summer!) temperatures translate great to barbecues and picnics. May festivities are a goldmine of opportunities for ecommerce businesses to sell everything from party supplies to garden furniture.
Mother’s Day is celebrated at different times across the globe, but a lot of people celebrate it in June. Prepare your gift items for (expecting) mothers and offers to give your sales an extra boost. Don’t forget about Father’s Day which follows only a few days later!
- May 1: Labor Day
- May 3–5: Golden Week (Japan)
- May 4: Star Wars Day
- May 5: Cinco de Mayo (Mexico, USA)
- May 11: National Eat What You Want Day
- May 13: World Cocktail Day
- May 14: Mother’s Day
- May 16: International Day of Light
- May 17: World Baking Day
- May 18: Father’s Day
- May 20: World Bee Day
- May 20: Wo Ai Ni Day (China’s Valentine’s Day)
- May 29: Spring Bank Holiday (UK)
- May 30: Memorial Day (USA)
June
With June comes Pride Month which brings lots of celebrations and opportunities for (Amazon) sellers and shoppers alike. Add a bunch of other celebrations and your retail calendar is almost full!
The beginning of summer goes hand in hand with celebrations such as World Gin Day, National Beer Day, Midsummer’s Day and last but not least – the kick-off of the school holidays.
Party decorations, travel products, and beachwear are in high demand. Prepare your inventory and expand summer-oriented advertising campaigns.
Pro Tip
If your product portfolio doesn’t fit any of the June holidays, you can take the opportunity to build your brand. Pride Month is a great time to sponsor or donate to your local pride community.
Or you can use the celebrations listed below for fun social media campaigns.
- June 1–30: Pride Month
- June 1: Global Day of Parents
- June 10: World Gin Day
- June 12: Dia dos Namorados (Brazil’s alternative to Valentine’s Day)
- June 15: National Beer Day (UK)
- June 18: Father’s Day (UK, USA)
- June 21: International Day of Yoga
- June 21: Beginning of Summer
- June 24: School Holidays (differs per school)
- June 24: Midsummer’s Day
July
Especially in the USA, items carrying the American flag are extremely popular to celebrate Independence Day in July!
At the same time, summer is in full swing: travel-related items are about to be snapped up. Think about summer wear, floaties, any kind of luggage or travel organizers and prepare some specials for your summer shoppers.
Attention
Amazon Sellers and Vendors, shout out to you! Keep your eyes peeled for the 2023 Prime Day announcement. For better guidance, Prime Day 2022 was held from 12 to 13 July.
But then again in 2021, it was in June, so it’s better to start preparations early. Mark the upcoming sales event in your ecommerce holiday calendar and don’t miss out. We shared some valuable tips on how to prepare effective Amazon PPC strategyand pump up your campaigns for Amazon Prime Day.
- July 1: Canada Day (Canada)
- July 4: American Independence Day (USA)
- July 7: World Chocolate Day
- July 17: World Emoji Day
- July 18: Islamic New Year
- July 30: International Day of Friendship
- July 31: National Avocado Day
August
Back-to-school keywords are in charge of PPC advertising in August. If you sell anything related to school supplies, brace yourself! Review your listings and PPC campaigns and add back-to-school-related keywords where it makes sense.
Ecommerce businesses that don’t offer school-related items can piggyback on a number of August celebrations. Target pet lovers on International Cat Day and International Dog Day.
Tap into the (craft) beer audience on August 4 and pair it with an ode to burgers at the end of the month. Dust off your Valentine’s spirit and bring it back for the Qixi Festival aka Chinese Valentine’s Day!
- August 4: International Beer Day
- August 8 International Cat Day
- August 9: Book Lovers Day
- August 19: World Photography Day
- August 22: Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day)
- August 24: National Burger Day (UK)
- August 26: International Dog Day
- August 29: Summer Bank Holiday (UK)
September
Fall is slowly setting in, kids are returning to school and parents have more time to relax … and do some shopping. Review your top sellers and prepare coupons and discounts for your customer base.
Mid-September brings THE festival for beer lovers: Oktoberfest. Even though it originates from Germany, it is widely celebrated around the world. The festival attracts over 6 million visitors to Munich alone! You can jazz up your visuals with beer, lederhosen, and pretzels.
Pro Tip
This is a great time to start preparing your inventory and campaigns for Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November. For a detailed breakdown on how to prepare for THE sales events of the year, read our Amazon Black Friday Strategy Guide for Sellers and Vendors.
- September 1: Back to School (differs per school)
- September 4: Labor Day (USA)
- September 6: Read a Book Day
- September 12: Chocolate Milkshake Day (USA)
- September 15: Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
- September 16: World Guacamole Day (USA)
- September 16 – October 3: Oktoberfest (Germany)
- September 21: International Peace Day
- September 23: First Day of Fall
- September 26: European Day of Languages (Europe)
- September 27: World Tourism Day
October
Bring out the pumpkin spice, October is here! Warm clothes, candles, soft blankets and pumpkins are in, beach wear is out. You can also use spooky Halloween-themed creatives for your marketing communication.
October is also known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can donate a share of your sales to your local cancer organization and kill two birds with one stone: do a good deed and build your brand. Pink ribbons all the way!
Attention
Amazon Sellers and Vendors Amazon might organize a second Prime Day. In 2022, the Prime Day Early Access sale was held from 11 to 12 October. Will it happen again? No one knows. But it can definitely pay off to keep it in mind and be prepared – see our Prime Day in October tips.
- October 1–31: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- October 1–31: Go Sober for October (UK)
- October 1: International Coffee Day
- October 1: World Vegetarian Day
- October 3: Unity Day (Germany)
- October 4: Double Ninth Festival (China)
- October 9: Canadian Thanksgiving (Canada)
- October 10: World Mental Health Day
- October 15–24: Navratri (India)
- October 16: World Food Day
- October 22: National Nut Day
- October 25: World Pasta Day
- October 26: National Pumpkin Day
- October 29: National Cat Day
- October 31: Halloween
November
November or should I say Movember? Following Breast Cancer Awareness Month, November raises awareness about men’s health. Shout out to all the men out there, grow your mustache and ‘stache your ecommerce store as well.
The end of the month brings the most expected (and dreaded) sales days for ecommerce businesses: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You must have been preparing for the good old Black Friday for a couple of months.
Now it’s time to make sure all your ducks are in a row. Double check your inventory, make sure your PPC advertising campaigns are adjusted to the higher volumes, and have a last look at your listings.
- November 1–31: Movember
- November 1: World Vegan Day
- November 2: Dia de Muertos (Mexico, Latin America)
- November 5: Guy Fawkes Night (UK)
- November 11: Single’s Day (China)
- November 12: Remembrance Sunday (UK)
- November 12: Diwali (India)
- November 23: Thanksgiving (USA)
- November 24: Black Friday
- November 27: Cyber Monday
- November 30: St Andrew’s Day (UK)
December
Peak shopping season is not over yet – Christmas is coming! Plus several other gift-giving holidays which makes December an exciting month for any ecommerce seller.
Keep a close eye on your stock levels AND your PPC campaigns. Did you sell out an item? Then pause the ads until it is back in stock. This will save you money (and a lot of gray hair).
Pro Tip
Christmas shoppers have a clear deadline: the gifts HAVE to arrive latest by December 24. Add a note to your listings promising it will arrive in time for Christmas. This could be just the push the shoppers need to finish the purchase.
- December 3–24: Advent
- December 4: National Cookie Day
- December 7–15: Hanukkah
- December 14: Christmas Jumper Day
- December 22: First Day of Winter
- December 24: Christmas Eve
- December 25: Christmas Day
- December 26: Boxing Day
- December 26 – January 1: Kwanzaa (African American)
- December 27: Bank Holiday
- December 31: New Year’s Eve
Which Holidays Will You Include Into Your Retail Calendar?
Ecommerce businesses can be very different from each other. Not every single holiday will work for everyone. It highly depends on your listings, but also where you come from and your target audiences.
Pick the holidays and celebrations you can use to your advantage. Planning, preparations and correct timing go a long way. The best part: it all works even better when you pair it with suitable items that sellers look for at that time of the year.
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Complete Retail Calendar 2023
Besides pulling together all key dates for ecommerce businesses and sellers, I also prepared a retail marketing calendar for you. Download it and use it to plan your marketing activities, PPC campaigns, social media marketing or even a content calendar.
