Important eCommerce Dates for 2021

It’s already been an eventful year, and if you’re like most eCommerce shop owners, you’ve probably just finished your busiest quarter yet. However, it’s imperative to not fall behind when it comes to future marketing promotions. While you’re enjoying the fruits of your labor, you’ll need to provide ample time to plan for holiday/seasonal marketing campaigns to continue to grow your business and meet your 2021 goals.

Set aside some time to go through your calendar to identify some of the most important eCommerce dates for the remainder of 2021 and start thinking about the promotions you’d like to have and strategies for standing out to your customers as you approach each of these dates.

Valentine’s Day (February 14)

Valentine’s Day marks the first significant promotion for certain types of eCommerce shops after the holiday season. Valentine’s Day eCommerce sales topped $20 billion in 2019 and 2020. If your online store sells jewelry, candy, or gift items, you should be planning your Valentine’s Day promotions as early as possible. Remember to keep men’s shopping habits in mind when creating your marketing emails and social media posts, as they typically buy around 62 percent of Valentine’s Day gifts.

Earth Day (April 22)

Green products have become all the rage in recent years, and eCommerce sellers that carry eco-friendly options can take advantage of Earth Day to promote environmentally-friendly shopping. Offering a free, reusable item with every order of a minimum amount, such as an aluminum water bottle or canvas tote bag that features your logo, is a fun way to incentivize sales while raising both your brand awareness and awareness of your cause.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (May 9 and June 20)

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day mark the first repeat gift-giving holidays since the pandemic began. With any luck, your customers will finally be able to comfortably spend time with their parents by late spring, which has the potential to make this Mother’s Day and Father’s Day more meaningful than ever. Plan to start offering sales approximately one month before these holidays to make sure your customers have plenty of time to find unique gifts.

Back to School

The parents and teachers on your email list probably have high hopes for the 2021-22 school year to finally look more normal than the last two, and offering promotions on everything from school supplies and backpacks to kids’ clothing and tech essentials can help start the year off strong. Plan to run back to school promotions during late July and August in order to make sure your sales are available to teachers and students in districts that start earlier in the year.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday (November 25-26)

2020’s massive spike in online shopping probably made this year your eCommerce shop’s strongest Black Friday yet. Chances are, though, that some of your shoppers missed the challenging fun of traditional, 4 a.m. Black Friday shopping in-person. You’ll need to start making plans well in advance to keep your customers’ attention in 2021.

Especially if your business only offers online sales, being one of the first to capture your customers’ interest with well-planned marketing emails and social media posts that showcase enticing promotions will be crucial in order to maintain or exceed your 2020 Black Friday revenue once customers become more comfortable shopping in stores again.

Cyber Monday (November 29)

Like most online stores, Cyber Monday is likely the most important day of the year for your eCommerce shop. Cyber Monday sales shattered records in 2020 by bringing in a total of approximately $10.8 billion in revenue. Although this figure fell below early predictions, mainly due to many companies beginning their holiday sales as early as October, it was still the biggest eCommerce shopping day in United States history.

Of course, this success means that breaking even with 2020 sales in 2021 has the potential to be challenging. Although your eCommerce sales are less likely to fall prey to the return to in-store shopping than your Black Friday sales, you should plan to start thinking about your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales by mid-summer to make sure that you have enough time to create strategic promotions that delight your customers and help you meet your sales goals. Waiting until November to decide on your Cyber Monday plans will leave your eCommerce business in the dust of the rest, but getting an early start will go a long way toward bringing in the revenue you want.

Super Saturday (December 18)

The last Saturday before Christmas is known as Panic Saturday for a reason. No matter how many times you tell your customers to order early to make sure they receive gifts in time for Christmas, plenty of them are going to wait until the last minute. Luckily for them, Christmas falls on a Saturday in 2021, which gives them slightly more time to receive last-minute orders placed on this day. Super Saturday may be stressful for your customers, but it typically results in one of the highest-revenue sales days of the year for many eCommerce shops.

Although you may hesitate at the idea of inadvertently promoting last-minute shopping, last-minute shoppers will always be there. Being able to find a new coupon or rush shipping discount from you in their inbox after your competitors have stopped sending marketing emails for the season can make all the difference as far as convincing them to choose your eCommerce shop over someone else’s.

Building Out Your Content Calendar

Using a content calendar is essential to keep the communication with your audience consistent. While you probably have a big to-do list as the year chugs along, establishing a plan to engage with your customers throughout the remainder of 2021 is critical for your business success.

Wondering what tools to use? Check out our FREE content calendar template:

At Future Holidays, we are here to help you optimize sales during the most significant shopping periods of the year. We can assist you with designing an email marketing strategy that builds your customers’ interest in your company in the weeks leading up to each major holiday and ensuring your website is equipped to handle above-average site traffic. Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer to help your eCommerce business set records on these dates. We can’t wait to work with you to help you achieve your goals in 2021!