Every year, there are multiple sales opportunities, marked by specific holidays that are special for consumers globally. We highly recommend noting down these important eCommerce holiday dates in 2021 for your online store to ensure that you can plan and execute your sale ahead of time.
We’ve listed all the important eCommerce dates to help you plan your holiday sales easily. Bookmark this article and come back to it every month to stay on track and never miss out on an opportunity to earn more.
Do note: Some dates may differ based on the country your target audience is based on. Always ensure that you plan out unique and memorable campaigns for these holiday sales.
eCommerce Dates to Remember for Better Sales Planning
February 7th, Superbowl Sunday
Super Bowl Sunday is the culmination of each National Football League (NFL) season. As a well-celebrated annual championship game, the sporting event is celebrated almost like an official holiday.
You can use this hype around the day to promote your brand, if you sell sporting goods and NFL-related merchandise, like as a print-on-demand brand. Even if you don’t sell related items, you can add to the narrative and share social media posts about the game and engage with a new audience segment online.
This is one of the important eCommerce dates to plan sales if your audience is enthusiastic about Superbowl!
February 12th, Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year is a festival that begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice and ends on the full moon fifteen days later. The holiday is highly impactful, with 385 million people traveling across the country and internationally to spend time with their families.
During this time, you can promote gifting for your products, create exclusive collections for shoppers, and capture sales early on in the year,
February13th, Galentine’s Day
Galentine's Day is celebrated on February 13, the day before that other love-related holiday, Valentine's Day. Many brands use this time to share content around women empowerment and support, celebrating female friendships and subtly promoting their collections exclusively curated for this.
February 14th, Valentine’s Day
Valentine's Day is a celebration of love and romance. Brands have historically used this holiday to encourage audiences to gift their products to their loved ones. From discounts to handwritten notes to custom Valentine's Day wrapping paper, brands have been able to creatively market their brand through the holiday.
It’s also a good idea to start your sales a little before this eCommerce date to cash in on the ‘valentine’s week’.
March 8th, International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day celebrates women's equality. If your brand stands for equality or caters to women, it's crucial to vocalize your support. Run a campaign, share your story, or even just give back to the community.
Remember that this eCommerce date isn’t just about discounts, but also how you position them. Make sure your messaging is empowering!
March 14th(UK) / 9th May (US/Canada), Mother’s Day
Mother's Day is quite popular across the world. While most of the world, from US and Canada to India, celebrates it in May, The UK celebrates Mother's Day in March.
Many brands set up Mother's Day related collections, share gift guides, and even discounts to help their shoppers find the perfect token of appreciation for their mums.
It’s a good idea to create nostalgic campaigns around this eCommerce sale date to get your audience to convert.
March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of Ireland’s heritage and culture that usually involves parades and festivals. As a $5.6 billion dollar market, brands must leverage this holiday and put up their St. Patrick's Day cheer, from related merchandise to just greeting your patrons on the day.
April 4th, Easter weekend
Easter Week is crucial, commemorating the events leading up to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. While it isn't as commercial, you can still celebrate Easter with an Easter egg hunt in your physical store and online or even Easter-related decor, clothing, and homeware.
The month of June, Pride Month
June is recognized as Pride Month all over the world. Brands run inclusive campaigns, showing their support for the LGBTQIA+ community through their social media posts, emails, and even through merchandise. Many brands also run charitable campaigns, giving a portion of their sales to organizations that support LGBTQIA+ folks.
June 20th, Father’s Day
While it isn't as popular as Mother's Day, Father's Day is a day to celebrate fathers. You can curate collections for customers to gift to their fathers and even share a discount code.
4th of July, Independence Day
4th of July is fairly popularly, known as the Independence Day for America. The day is spent barbequing and sharing a sense of patriotic spirit for the country. If you sell products that are US-themed, this is the best time to promote these products.
Early September, back-to-school
In the US, UK, and Canada, schools open up in the first week of September. Ahead of this week, many brands run ‘back-to-school’ sales to help parents buy items they need for their kids, from stationery to backpacks to even sports equipment.
If you’re a brand that sells items that suit kids’ needs during this time, running a ‘back-to-school’ sale can help you amplify your brand and capture new shoppers preparing for reopening day.
September 6th, Labour Day
Labor Day celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers. It’s a federal holiday with public celebrations, similar to the 4th of July. Despite being a smaller holiday, it is time for consumers to buy new outfits and welcome the new season.
October 31st, Halloween
Halloween is most people's favorite holiday, playing dress-up, trick or treating, and having a fun (and slightly scary) time.
If you plan to run a Halloween campaign, you could curate collections that help consumers with their Halloween shopping, from costumes to accessories to candy. Show how your team celebrates the day and make your shoppers part of your Halloween celebration.
November 11th, Single’s Day
Singles’ Day, or Double 11, started as a student tradition in China in the mid-1990s. As an antithesis to Valentine’s Day, Single’s Day is celebrated by singles and the day is spent going to the movies and shopping.
Today, Single's Day or Double 11, is one of China's biggest ecommerce holidays. If you have a large audience from China, ensure that you promote Single’s Day and offer themed discounts on your Shopify store.
November 25th, Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a day for families and friends to get together for a meal and give thanks for what they have. This day is best spent showing appreciation for your customers, extending your gratitude to them for shopping your products and supporting you.
November 26th-29th, Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM)
BFCM is short for Black Friday, Cyber Monday. Black Monday is the shopping day right after Thanksgiving, known for its large discounts and crowds of discount hunters. Every eCommerce brand must run a BFCM sale and prepare for the sale months in advance.
Set up a pre-launch page, plan your marketing, stock up on your inventory, and have all hands on deck to ensure that the BFCM weekend goes smoothly. Read our guide to setting up your BFCM sale.
Also read: How to Optimize your Shopify Store for Conversions this BFCM in the Post-COVID World
December 25th, Christmas Day
Christmas has become a highly commercialized holiday and brands market Christmas shopping on their store from the beginning of the month, pushing shoppers to buy gifts for their loved ones and leveraging the holiday through the month of December.
You can create Christmas related collections or even just gifting collections, share gift guides, and post fun social media posts around the holiday. Don't forget to start marketing in advance!
Also read: 10 Ways To Prepare Your Shopify Store for the Holiday Season Sale
December 26th, Boxing Day Sales
Boxing Day is a national holiday celebrated the day after Christmas, predominantly by people in the United Kingdom and other countries connected to the UK, like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many European countries. It's a public holiday and has commercial significance, drawing a large number of consumers to shop for the upcoming year.
In the UK, an estimated £1.04 billion or $1.37 billion USD was spent online during Boxing Day in 2018.
Ready for 2021?
We hope this list of eCommerce dates in 2021 helps you stay on track and plan the year better! If you’re looking for customizations on-site to reflect the holiday, our team is here to help!
Our team of design experts will help you set up a better store design for your Shopify store, reflecting the sale and revamping your on-site experience to better
