Every eCommerce Holiday You Need To Know About in 2024. (Printable Version Included!)

When I say Peak Sales, you say BFCM! When it comes to peak sales periods in eCommerce a few key moments come to mind like BFCM, Singles Day and Amazon Prime Day(s). And while we all know that these dates will roll around, it is useful to have them all on one calendar to help with promotional strategy and to plan marketing campaigns. 

We’ve put together some tips and tricks to get the most out of these peak sales periods as well as a list of all the major eCommerce dates (highest sales dates are in green) you’ll want to know about and even some lesser known holidays to suit your business niche. 

Not only that, download and save this this printable calendar so you have these dates on hand to refer to!

Prepare your business for periods of high sales

When you fail to prepare you prepare to fail! Here are a few things you can do to get your business ready to make the most of all holiday periods in 2024. 

1. Learn from the impact of inflation in 2023

Inflation is at its highest rate in over 40 years. Consumers started shifting their focus to saving rather than spending in 2023 and we can expect that will continue this year.  A survey by Numerator found that 88% of people think inflation will have at least some impact on their holiday spending. As a result retailers will find it more challenging than ever to maintain healthy profit margins. eCommerce merchants will need to innovate and optimize every part of the customer journey to keep sales going. 

One way to incentivize spending is to offer Buy Now Pay Later options. According to a report by Square and AfterPay, 21% of shoppers polled in 2023 said they would consider a BNL payment option to finance purchases during the holiday season. Incentivise your customers to make a purchase by integrating with Klarna, Shop Pay or other BNL services and allow them to pay in installments.

2. Create a promotional strategy based on peak traffic periods

Once you’ve got your peak sales days down, work backwards to plan promotions and marketing efforts leading up to the peak sales period. This helps you maximize those periods. For example, merchants often plan their BFCM promotion months in advance. 

In 2023, beauty brand  BOOM! By Cindy Joseph promoted a brand new product launch for six weeks leading up to BFCM weekend and then offered the new product over the sale weekend at a discounted price. This drove interest in their brand and their product launch. 

3. Inventory management and demand forecasting are crucial 

The last thing you want is to have periods of high traffic coming up and out-of-stock products. Managing inventory year round can be really challenging but by knowing when sales are likely to be high and looking at your historical sales data you can forecast demand and ensure that you are fully stocked and prepared to meet demand! Demand forecasting tools like Inventoro can help you stock the right amounts of product at the right time in the right warehouse locations. 

4. Optimize your post-purchase funnels to boost AOV

Post-purchase upselling involves offering additional products to shoppers after they have made a purchase. It is a strategy aimed at increasing the average order value and maximizing customer lifetime value. 

By presenting shoppers with irresistible (additional) offers immediately after they have committed to a purchase, brands have a higher chance of upselling them during peak sales periods.

Now without further ado, here are all the popular holidays you should have in your calendar with the highest sales days highlighted in red and we’ve thrown in some niche holidays in as well for those of you planning promotions for National Pet Day or Star Wars Day or Earth Day; 

1. January

Popular Holidays

• 1 January: New Year’s Day
• 16 January: Martin Luther King Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 12 January: National Pharmacist Day
• 16 January: Elementary School Teachers Day

2. February

Popular Holidays

• All Month: Black History Month
• 2 February: Groundhog Day
• 10 & 11 February: Lunar New Year
• 12 February: Lincoln’s Birthday
• 14 February: Valentine’s Day
• 20 February: President’s Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 20 February: National Love Your Pet Day
• 21 February: Mardi Gras & Pancake Day

3. March

Popular Holidays

• 8 March: International Women’s Day
• 17 March: St Patrick’s Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• All Month: Women’s History Month
• 4 March: National Son’s Day
• 13 March: National Jewel Day
• 18 March: Global Recycling Day

4. April

Popular Holidays

• 1 April: April Fool’s Day
• 7 April: Good Friday
• 9 April: Easter
• 10 April: Easter Monday
• 22 April: Earth Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 3 April: Tweed Day
• 11 April: National Pet Day
• 26 April: World Stationery Day
• 28 April: Arbor Day

5.May

Popular Holidays

• 1 May: Labour Day ( September for the US)
• 5 May: Cinco de Mayo
• 14 May: Mother’s Day
• 29 May: Memorial Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 2 May: National Brothers and Sisters Day
• 4 May: Star Wars Day
• 12 May: International Nurses Day
• 30 May: National Creativity Day

6. June

Popular Holidays

• All Month: PRIDE
• 14 June: Flag Day
• 18 June: Father’s Day
• 19 June: Juneteenth
• 24 June: Armed Forces Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 8 June: National Best Friends Day

7. July

Popular Holidays

• *Dates to be released* Amazon Prime Day

• 4 July: US Independence Day
• 23 July: Parents’ Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 1 July: National Postal Workers Day
• 7 July: World Chocolate Day
• 9 July: Fashion Day
• 30 July: International Day of Friendship

8. August

Popular Holidays

• All Month: Back to School

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 1 August: National Girlfriend’s Day
• 4 August: Sister’s Day
• 9 August: National Book Lovers Day
• 17 August: National Nonprofit Day
• 18 August: National Couples Day

9. September

Popular Holidays

• 4 September: US Labor Day
• 10 September: Grandparent’s Day
• 11 September: Patriot’s Day

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 16 September: Stepfamily Day
• 19 September: Talk like a Pirate Day
• 25 September: National Comic Book Day

10. October

Popular Holidays

• 9 October: Indigenous People’s Day
• 31 October: Halloween

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 1 October: International Coffee Day
• 3 October: National Boyfriend Day
• 5 October: World Teachers’ Day
• 16 October: National Boss Day

11. November

Popular Holidays

• 11 November: Veteran’s Day
• 11 November: Singles Day
• 23 November: Thanksgiving
• 24 November: Black Friday
• 25 November: Small Business Saturday
• 27 November: Cyber Monday
• 28 November: Giving Tuesday

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 13 November: World Kindness Day
• 19 November: International Men’s Day

12. December

Popular Holidays

• 24 December: Christmas Eve
• 25 December: Christmas Day
• 26 December: Boxing Day
• 31 December: New Years Eve

Niche eCommerce Holidays

• 4 December: National Sock Day
• 11 December: Green Monday

We hope this retail holiday calendar helps you plan your promotional strategy for 2024 and stay ahead of the game during high sales periods. Once again if you have not, download the printable version for easy reference!