E-commerce calendar: plan your sales action plan

Conquering new markets, developing your business on a global level, making sure your products are among the millions of items purchased… There are many reasons to take part in commercial events!
However, they require some preparation and a well thought-out action plan with clear business objectives.

Read our advice and the e-commerce events not to be missed 👇🏼


SUMMARY

  1. Tips to gain in efficiency and plan your e-commerce calendar
  2. The winter Peak Season
  3. Timeless promotional events
  4. Commercial events
  5. Focus on international promotional events

1. Tips to gain in efficiency and plan your e-commerce calendar

  • Select the key dates that are relevant to your product categories and note them in your calendar
  • Prepare an action plan in advance with clear commercial objectives
  • Define the role of each member of your team to ensure smooth and consistent handling during peak periods
  • Find out about the specifics of events in each country and adapt your product catalogue for international use
  • Prepare and schedule your promotions in your online shop and in the marketplaces where you sell your products
  • Anticipate and plan marketing campaigns on different acquisition channels in parallel with your sales channels: retargeting, Product Ads, social networks, affiliation
  • Manage your orders and stocks with a product feed manager like BeezUP
  • Check that your product sheets are complete and relevant whatever the distribution channel
  • Focus on the customer experience to make yourself stand out from your competitors
  • Focus on your customer communication before and after sales, especially on marketplaces

2. The winter Peak Season

From November to January/February

The winter Peak Season is the most important period of the year when several commercial events follow one another, generating significant sales peaks throughout the world. While Christmas used to be the biggest revenue generator, today Singles’ Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the winning combination.
Here are all the highlights of this period 👇

  • Singles’ Day | 11 November 2023
  • Thanksgiving | 23 November 2023
  • Black Friday | 24 November 2023
  • Small Business Saturday | 25 November 2023
  • Cyber Monday | 27 November 2023
  • Free Shipping Day | 14 December 2023
  • Christmas Day | 25 December 2023
  • Boxing Day | 26 December 2023
  • Winter Sales | 11 January to 7 February 2023
  • Blue Monday | 17 January 2023

And if the objective is international, then your teams and your product catalogue must be adapted per country: product type, shipping costs and conditions, VAT rates, currencies, etc.

3. Timeless promotional events

📆 Sales (France)

Winter Sales 11 January to 7 February 2023
Summer Sales 28 June to 25 July 2023

A staple of the French retail and e-commerce calendar, the Sales return every summer and winter for 4 weeks. Unlike other promotional events, the sales are governed by regulations that set certain rules for sellers:

  • Products in the sale must have been on sale for at least one month
  • Sale items must be distinguished from non-sale items
  • It is not possible to organise sales outside the official dates
  • The sale price and the starting price must be clearly displayed.
    💡 Remember to adapt your product sheets to stay legal!

📆 French Days

The French Days of Spring 2023: April 26 to May 1 (theoretical)
Back to School French Days 2023 : September 27 to October 2 (theoretical)

A French alternative to Black Friday, French Days was created in 2018 on the initiative of 6 major French retailers: Cdiscount, Rue du Commerce, Showroomprivée.com, La Redoute, Boulanger and the Fnac Darty group. This promotional operation, long awaited by consumers, lasts 5 days. It takes place twice a year only in France, at strategic periods: in Spring (before the Summer Sales) and in the Autumn (before the Winter Peak Season). Clever!

The French Days highlight French products and French companies, but you can participate if you are a seller on the French market!

 

📆 Amazon Prime Day

Upcoming dates

A key date in the world of e-commerce, Prime Day is a marketing blitz organised by the American giant Amazon. For 48 hours, the marketplace offers good deals to its millions of Amazon Prime members around the world.
The aim is to boost sales for its sellers in the summer, a slack period observed by the platform, and it is also a counter-attack on the popular Black Friday.

Beware, Prime Day takes place during the summer sales in France. It is strongly advised to anticipate by preparing and scheduling your offers both in your online shop and in the marketplaces on which you publish your products!

👉 To give yourself every chance of success, find all the practical information and advice in our article dedicated to Prime Day

4. Commercial events

📆 Valentine’s Day

14 February

Valentine’s Day, the event for lovers, has been a staple commercial event for many years. However, with increasing competition, it is not so easy to succeed…
To stand out, focus on the customer experience! Indeed, an advantageous return policy, guaranteed delivery before a given day and the optimisation of the purchasing process are key criteria in consumers’ choices.
Facilitate your buying process by segmenting your products: Select personalised gifts “for him” or “for her”, according to price, interests, your best sellers…

Make it possible to enter a delivery address different from the billing address for those who want to surprise their valentine.
On the marketplaces side, at BeezUP, our merchants send order tracking information to their customers, to reassure them.

 

📆 Mother’s Day/Father’s Day & Grandmother’s/Grandfather’s Day

In France:
Mother’s Day: 28 May 2023
Father’s Day: 18 June 2023
Grandmother’s Day: 5 March 2023
Grandfather’s Day: 1 October 2023

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are celebrated and popular worldwide. They have a big commercial impact in all countries.
Grandmother’s Day and Grandfather’s Day are typically French. Their commercial purpose is less important here. In the United States, Italy and Germany, Grandparents’ Day is celebrated instead.

The main product categories are obviously flowers, cosmetics, perfume, fashion, etc.

These family celebrations reiterate the importance of finding out about the dates and types of key gifts for each of the countries targeted. You will be able to promote your selection of personalised products on your e-commerce site, on marketplaces thanks to their sponsoring tools and even on social networks thanks to Social Ads.

5. Focus on international promotional events

📆 USA: The Super Bowl

12 February 2023

The National Football League (NFL) championship game takes place in February: the Super Bowl.
If the big brands think nothing of spending six figures for a few seconds of television advertising, it’s because it is the most watched programme on American television.

Even if you’re not a sports brand, you can boost your visibility on digital with a marketing campaign combining Product Ads on Google Shopping, the highlighting of your offers and your shop on the social networks Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, and of course the use of retargeting or affiliation platforms…

Brands like M&M’s go further by customising their products for the occasion

M&M's customized for the Superbowl

📆 St. Patrick’s Day / Halloween and Carnival

Saint Patrick’s Day : 17 March
Halloween : 31 October

Saint Patrick’s Day, an event of Irish origin, and Halloween, which originated in the USA, are great opportunities to increase your sales if you are a seller specialising in costumes, disguises, tricks, sweets and drinks…

And if you are expanding internationally, the European Carnival is just as important for your e-commerce strategy.

If your online shop is not available in several languages, selling on international marketplaces is certainly a good option to test your products in other markets. Think about it!

📆 Chinese New Year

22 January 2023

The Chinese New Year takes place in February. This is when the sale of Asian products explodes. But contrary to what you might think, other product categories are popular during Chinese New Year, including luxury, fashion, cosmetics and high-tech. Why is this? Because many online shoppers take advantage of this time of year to order products sold abroad.

 

📆 Pâques

09 April 2023

Although Easter is known for the famous egg hunt, it is originally a Christian religious festival celebrated worldwide.
Food products, specifically confectionery and chocolate, are the most popular during this festival.

You don’t sell sweets or chocolate? All is not lost! Increase traffic on your e-commerce site and your sales at the same time, by presenting an egg hunt with gifts or discounts😉.

There are endless ways of attracting consumers fond of good deals!

 

As you will understand, in order to keep up with the frenetic pace of promotional events, especially international ones, you need to prepare your offers, your stocks and your teams in advance… And to boost your international sales, you need to adapt your offer to the market and the country you are targeting, choose an efficient logistics partner, be able to deliver internationally and finally, position yourself on those commercial operations that are adapted to your strategy and your products…

Using a product feed management software during these periods of high activity allows you to save precious time through the automation of time-consuming tasks and the centralisation of your e-commerce feeds from your sales and marketing acquisition channels.

Global E-Commerce Calendar


Annabelle de BeezUP

 

Annabelle Granulant
Content Manager at BeezUP