How to Prepare for 2024 Summer E-commerce Sales Events
May 7, 2024
There are five days until Mother’s Day, a little over two weeks until Memorial Day, a month until Father’s Day, and to top it all off, it’s already Pet Month. Then comes the July e-commerce sales events, back-to-school shopping, and Labor Day. So many holiday sales to keep up with, and so little (or in some cases no) time!
In the e-commerce world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the continuous stream of sales events. Though they can be incredibly fruitful for many brands, we’ll let you in on a little secret: you don’t have to participate in all of them. Pick the events that make the most sense for your brand and products and run with it. Consider these major upcoming sales events as you plan, then incorporate the tips shared below into your strategy to see success.
Key Takeaways
Keeping up with the sheer number of holiday sales events in the e-commerce world can be daunting. Our advice is to only participate in the ones that make sense for your business, i.e. if you are a beauty brand, Mother’s Day likely aligns with your goals. Keep tabs on upcoming events so you have time to develop a comprehensive campaign strategy using our tips and tricks below.
Upcoming E-Commerce Sales Events
Pet Month
Happy Pet Month to all, and Pet Day to Amazon shoppers! Throughout the month of May, The Big 3 (Amazon, Walmart & Target) will offer deals and discounts on pet products and supplies. Pet Day at Amazon starts today and lasts through tomorrow (May 7-8, 2024). Check out Amazon’s Pet Day storefront, and read more about the lucrative e-commerce pet business here.
Mother’s & Father’s Day
Every year, gifts for mom and dad go on sale on The Big 3 leading up to Mother’s and Father’s Day (May 12 & June 16th). Mother’s Day sales have already started, while Father’s Day sales will start in June. Check out Walmart’s dedicated storefront for Mother’s Day here.
Memorial Day Weekend
Memorial Day Weekend (MDW) sales focus on categories that help with spring cleaning and upgrading outdoor spaces like patio furniture, home decor, household appliances, and technology. It’s the unofficial start to summer with deals similar in quality to Presidents’ and Labor Day. Amazon’s MDW sale usually starts on the Friday before the weekend (some deals could be available much earlier), Walmart starts discounts the week before, and Target is already offering steep MDW savings for Target Circle members.
Note: The July savings events (Amazon Prime Day, Walmart Plus Week, Target Circle Week) are next in line. Follow us on LinkedIn for our summer sales prep series, and read part one here.
Back-to-School Shopping
The back-to-school shopping season will start in late July and last through August with deals on school supplies and other categories like apparel and technology. Like other sales events, there will likely be dedicated storefronts on each marketplace where shoppers can browse deals in one place.
Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day sales on The Big 3 will probably follow a similar timeline to MDW. Big ticket items like mattresses, major appliances, TVs, clothing, and home decor will be the main focus.
For a full timeline of sales events, check out our 2024 e-commerce calendar.
Top Tips & Tricks to Maximize Earnings During E-commerce Sales Events
Follow our tips and tricks to win big on holiday sales events:
- If a holiday sales event aligns with your business goals and product offering, create a dedicated sub-page in your brand stores where shoppers can browse holiday-related items in one place.
- Run curated advertising campaigns that direct traffic to the holiday sub-page in your brand stores. Also, add holiday-related keywords to your campaigns.
- Create deals and promotions for the products you want to highlight during the event. Remember to differ your promotion strategy for each marketplace and to either offer the same deals or feature different products across marketplaces.
- Make sure your content is optimized across your catalog (or at the very least, the products you are running deals on) and that you have more than enough inventory to sustain the demands of the event.
- Consider how your customers’ shopping behaviors vary between marketplaces. What your Amazon customers are shopping for might be different from your Target customers’ shopping habits. Make sure your content speaks to these different audiences.
Macarta is Here to Help
If you are looking for additional support during holiday sales events like these, our team at Macarta is here to help. We are a multinational full-service marketplace agency specializing in retail media to drive growth and sustained success for our brand partners. Reach out to us here, and let’s get started!