The holiday season is undoubtedly the most important shopping event in the retail industry because these are the peak days when consumers rush to shop. These holidays are often associated with an approaching calendar holiday or a local event. Therefore, it is very important for the retailer to properly plan and prepare the business programs and methods to be effective. The best way to stay ahead is to predict consumer trends and behavior so you can tailor accordingly for the holidays. Sellers need a calendar for these dates to get their stores, employees, products, and marketing in time. In this article, we would like to lay out the retail holiday calendar, which includes the key dates for retail businesses and the strategies they can use to get the most out of their business.
Key Dates of Retail Holiday Calendar
Retail holidays are peak shopping days for both brick-and-mortar and online stores. Some popular retail holidays, such as Black Friday or Christmas Eve, are well known to many consumers and an opportunity for businesses to take advantage of to increase sales. Therefore, brands need to understand these retail holidays well. In the retail holiday calendar, there are monthly holidays and retailers need to keep most in mind no matter where they do business.
First of all, in January, stores need to pay attention to New Year’s Day (January 1st). This is a great time to promote and execute marketing campaigns into solutions, self-care, and annual planning or goals. If the clothing or health and beauty brands know how to understand the market needs and provide the best services, they will gain significant benefits on this occasion. Besides, getting to know customers day in the first quarter is also equal to getting feedback from customers via text survey or live chat. This will help the store improve its business and strengthen its relationship with customers.
February has one of the most attractive retail events which is Valentine’s Day on February 14. This day is celebrated all over the world so it is quite a large scale. Brands advertise Valentine’s Day promotions to boost sales and ensure people can make purchases in time. Besides, March has International Women’s Day. Usually, businesses choose programs or messages that honor women as the main strategy for this retail day and attract many customers.
April has two notable retail occasions: Easter and Earth Day. Children’s retail stores are usually very active on Easter, and brands also hold an in-store event with attractive gifts for buyers. Along with that, Earth Day is a day to celebrate sustainability in retail. This is also an opportunity to encourage buyers to access products that are less harmful to the environment.
The months from May to June also record key dates in the retail holiday calendar. These are Mother’s Day in May, International Children’s Day in June, and Father’s Day. These occasions are quite important for retailers to conduct marketing strategies.
October is the month to start the last quarter and this is the time when the retail situation is extremely bustling, starting with Halloween, which is interesting and chosen by many retailers to launch a big program. November is the month of Black Friday, an indispensable shopping day in retail and consumer because it is a big sale day and most buyers look forward to it. This is also the day when retailers can see the biggest sales of the year.
In the last month of the year – December, there are two key dates: Christmas and New Year’s Eve. These occasions are designed by retailers with a focus on consumer and family-oriented products.
Retail Holiday Calendar Strategies
After understanding the retail holiday calendar, retailers need to learn and prepare strategies and programs for these days. First of all, one thing they need to keep in mind is to avoid overselling. They should not abuse and use up all the key dates in the calendar to organize discounts and perform programs because it will no longer be able to attract customers. This can reduce brand awareness. Therefore, it is necessary to let shoppers “wait” for the next sale to attract them more. In addition, choosing the date to carry out retail campaigns will help businesses best prepare their goods. They should perform inventory management and staff planning for the highest selling efficiency. Notably, on select retail occasions, the company can also choose to push ads for in-stock products. This will benefit them in terms of revenue.
Besides, according to the retail holiday calendar, the company also needs to allocate resources appropriately. To prepare a sales event, managers must spend a lot of internal resources to manage and execute. It includes time, money, and manpower to control stock, run marketing programs, track orders, and execute orders properly to satisfy consumers. It will be difficult if resources are not controlled and revenue will also be affected. As a result, retailers need to devote time to design, preparation, copying, inventory, sales staff training, and other resources. Moreover, the key things that brands need to focus on are increasing brand value, researching new SKUs (Stock Keeping Units), optimizing product pages, and leading other growth initiatives. That is what makes stores in business long and effective. Along with that, choosing a strategic date for the drop is also important and needs careful consideration.
Notably, sellers need to plan a suitable business route because there is a lot of work that needs to be done to sell during the big holidays. Building a suitable roadmap will make it easier for managers to manage. First of all, the work of designing images and media publications for the holiday. The question that businesses need to ask and answer is when to deploy email marketing and other forms of marketing to attract customers during the holidays of the year, and how to apply holiday promotions. How and what is the deadline?
Conclusion
The retail holiday calendar isn’t just for marking Black Friday deals and December holiday shopping. It includes dozens of events, both online and offline, that retailers can prepare and engage to serve current and future customers. They must be ready for marketing, inventory, and logistics. This will make the customer shopping process more seamless. If you are looking for a tool to help you manage your holiday business, feel free to contact us.
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