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For online retailers, the last quarter is the most exciting time of the year, mainly due to the (pre-)Christmas sales. This holiday season period has become increasingly important in online retailing in recent years. Cyber Monday was predicted to be the most successful, followed by Black Friday. 2022 was a record-breaking year with results of $9.12 billion and $11.3 billion in e-commerce sales and YoY growth of 2.3% and 5.8% validate these predictions.
Halloween – 31st of October
The origins of this event can be traced back to the Celts, who dressed up to scare off the dead. As the custom evolved over the years and reached the USA, Halloween gradually gained commercial importance. Today, Halloween is a great way to draw attention to your online shop and brand before the shopping madness takes over. This can be achieved, for example, with creative competitions via social media or special discount campaigns.
Singles Day – 11th of November
On the 11th of November, those people who live a single life are celebrated. Where does this idea come from? No, for once this holiday tradition does not come from the US, but from China. Alibaba generated a stunning USD 84.54 billion last year. Given the circumstances, they could once again surpass the previous year's record. Even though Singles Day is especially popular in Asia, there are several opportunities to use the occasion to promote your online shop in Europe, the USA, or wherever your business is located. For that, you can design fancy ads to raise brand awareness or to promote your upcoming sale.
Grey Thursday – 23th of November
More and more online retailers are already starting to launch targeted marketing activities on the so-called "Grey Thursday" for the days around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Thus, this day marks the start of the shopping madness, which is characterized by email campaigns to newsletter subscribers, targeted social media postings, and flash sales (as famous by Kylie Jenner and her Shopify shop).
Black Friday – 24th of November
In 2022 the world sales average was $8.9 billion and there is no doubt that this year many sales records will be broken again. Many consumers are likely to prefer e-shopping over visiting brick-and-mortar stores.
The historical significance of Black Friday, tied to the market crash in the early 20th century, continues to shape its name, referring to companies offering drastically reduced prices to remain financially viable, or "in the black." However, with numerous online traders running aggressive advertising and offering steep discounts, standing out in the digital marketplace becomes challenging. Consequently, meticulous planning and a clever strategy become essential for online retailers seeking success during this event.
Cyber Monday – 27th of November
As Black Friday was originally intended for retail stores, Cyber Monday was created for online commerce. Together, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are usually referred to as "BFCM". All in all, the shopping mania thus lasts from Thursday to Monday. During this time the focus is on flash sales, attractive offers, the use of Scarcity effects, social media advertising, and product placement. For an online shop to benefit from this period, a sophisticated "BFCM marketing strategy" must be planned well in advance. The 2022 Cyber Monday was expected to reaffirm Cyber Monday's status as the leading online shopping day in the United States, reaching nearly $12 billion in sales.
Saint Nicholas Day – 6th of December (also 5th of Dec. & 19th of Dec)
December 6th marks the day of celebration for one of the most famous saints in Christianity: Nicholas of Myra. At the latest, this is also the day when late bloomers among e-commerce companies start their Christmas business in online retail by starting to advertise with targeted Christmas promotions.
Note, in some Western European regions this day is celebrated on the eve of the 5th of December, while in most Eastern European countries it is celebrated on the 19th of December.
Free Shipping Day – 14th of December
On this day, numerous small and large companies offer customers free shipping and guarantee delivery before Christmas Eve - a convincing argument if you don't want to take the risk of coming home empty-handed.
Last shopping weekend before Christmas 2023 - 16th and 17th of December
The last shopping weekend in stationary retail this year falls on the 16th and 17th of December. For online retailers, however, the weekend before or directly after the Free Shipping Day is most probably the last opportunity to increase marketing efforts and boost the number of Christmas orders. It is particularly advisable to use automated remarketing campaigns to target people who have abandoned the purchase process early. This enables online retailers to increase the number of sales transactions.
Additional things that you should pay attention to
As explained in our blog providing 24 tips for BFCM, planning for the Christmas season is essential. Due to the increasing number of orders, the workload during this time increases considerably. As a result, one of the decisions to be made when handling shipments is whether to continue to brand the packages on your own, which takes a lot of time.
The time needed for the elaborate packaging could also be used well for other activities. An efficient alternative is the use of individualized packaging, which can emphasize and strengthen the brand without taking up much time. In this context, it is also worth considering whether logistics and fulfillment could be outsourced to mitigate the stress that accompanies the peak seasons so that the focus on the core business is not lost.
If you have already outsourced your logistics processes, it is crucial to proactively communicate with your fulfillment service provider about anticipated high-order volume days. By sharing this information, they can adequately prepare and ensure a seamless fulfillment process. Taking these measures into consideration, the Christmas season of 2023 is poised to become a record-breaking success.