2024 eCommerce Holiday Calendar
It’s no secret that sales, whether through brick-and-mortar or online, peak during certain times of the year. Retail’s Big Three (Amazon, Walmart, Target) consistently hit the jackpot during holidays and major sales events, providing opportunities for sellers on each marketplace to:
- Maximize sales
- Reach new customers
- Increase brand awareness
To maximize your return throughout the 2024 holidays, as a vendor or seller on these marketplaces, consider the significant dates where your brand can boost sales. You can stand out from the crowd, especially during those saturated sales events, by:
- Incorporating niche holidays
- Running deals and coupons
- Using creative advertising
Collaborate with your internal teams and external partners to identify the significant events and holidays in 2024 that align with your goals. To help you get started, here are some holiday schedule highlights to consider as you plan your strategy for The Big Three:
January
- 1/1: New Year’s Day
- 1/15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Planning ahead: Start preparing for July’s Amazon Prime Day, Walmart+ Week, & Target Circle Week.
February
- Black History Month
- 2/10-24: Lunar New Year
- 2/14: Valentine’s Day If you sell giftable items, make sure your listings are fully optimized and add Valentine’s Day-related keywords to your advertising campaigns. Pro tip: Target words like “Galentine’s Day” or “Valentine’s Day gifts for friends” to reach more customers.
- 2/19: President’s Day
March
- 3/1-4/17: Spring Holiday Season
- 3/8: International Women’s Day
- 3/11-4/9: Ramadan
- 3/17: St. Patrick’s Day
- March 31: Easter
Planning ahead: Start preparing for October’s Amazon Prime Big Deals Day, Walmart Deals Holiday Kickoff Sale, & Target’s Fall Circle Week.
April
- 4/9: Eid al-Fitr
- 4/11: National Pet Day This is a time when many retailers offer pet supply discounts. Amazon even has an entire day dedicated to pet deals at the beginning of May.
- 4/22: Earth Day
Planning ahead: Start preparing your inventory and campaigns for the back-to-school season in August.
May
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Beginning of May: Amazon Pet Day
- 5/12: Mother’s Day If you sell giftable items, add Mother’s Day-related keywords to your ad campaigns. Need to speak to an advertising specialist? Reach out to us here.
- 5/27: Memorial Day
June
- Pride Month
- 6/16: Father’s Day
- 6/19: Juneteenth
- 6/20: Summer Solstice / First Day of Summer
Planning ahead: Start prepping your inventory for Cyber 5. Make sure you’ll have the stock you need by Amazon, Walmart, and Target’s deadlines, and consider looking into 3PL options for a backup plan.
July
- 7/4: Independence Day
- Mid-July: Prime Day, Walmart Plus Week, Target Circle Week Though yet to be announced, Prime Day, Walmart Plus Week, and Target Circle Week will likely overlap in mid-July as in years past. Stay updated by following us on LinkedIn, or head to our 2023 Prime Day sellers’ guide for a good starting point.
August
- Back-to-School If you sell school supplies, backpacks, laptops, or other school essentials, optimize your listings, add back-to-school-related keywords to your ad campaigns, and refresh your brand store. Consider offering a deal or promotion to set your product apart. For more ways to capitalize on the back-to-school season, head to our guide here.
September
- 9/2: Labor Day
- 9/22: First Day of Fall
Planning ahead: Prepare for the holiday rush. Optimize your listings, create holiday deals, estimate your inventory, etc. Keep a lookout for our annual Cyber 5 blog post for more guidance!
October
- 10/1-1/1: Winter Holiday Season Ensure ample inventory will be replenished on time, optimize your ad campaigns, refresh your catalog’s PDPs, add a holiday experience to your Amazon brand store, and make sure your deals and promotions are submitted by the deadlines. Need more detailed guidance? Click here for last year’s holiday checklist.
- 10/3 – 4: Rosh Hashanah
- Mid-October: Prime Big Deal Days, Walmart Deals Holiday Kickoff, Target’s bi-annual Circle Week Amazon will likely continue its fall Prime Big Deal Days event, the inaugural sale in 2022 that triggered Walmart and Target to hold their own October sales events to kick off the holiday season.
- 10/14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- 10/31: Halloween See Creative Ways to Boost Halloween Sales for ideas.
November
- Walmart’s Deals for Days As in years past, Walmart will likely run holiday deals throughout November. Keep an eye out for an official announcement as the year goes on.
- 11/1: Diwali / Deepavali
- 11/5: Election Day
- 11/11: Veteran’s Day
- Around 11/22-12/2: Amazon’s Cyber “11” In 2023, Amazon extended its Cyber 5 shopping event from five to 11 days, giving shoppers more time to take advantage of deals. The holiday shopping season is starting earlier, so we predict to see another extended Cyber 5 event in 2024.
- 11/23-27: Pre-holiday deals
- 11/28: Thanksgiving
- 11/29: Black Friday
- 12/2: Cyber Monday
December
- 12/21: Winter Solstice / First Day of Winter
- 12/24: Christmas Eve
- 12/25: Christmas
- 12/25-1/2: Hanukkah
- 12/26 – 1/1: Kwanzaa
- 12/31: New Year’s Eve
Looking to maximize sales on Retail’s Big Three throughout 2024? We can help! Macarta is a full-service marketplace agency specializing in retail media to drive growth and sustained success for its brand partners. Reach out to us here, and let’s get started.