Key Q4 eCommerce Dates to Mark on Your Calendar

Christmas may be the biggest eCommerce holiday on everyone’s calendar. However the entirety of Q4 yields huge sales for businesses, whether that’s for online or in-store shopping.

One of the reasons for that is the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. In fact, 30% of all retail sales occur from Black Friday till Christmas. It’s the largest shopping day of the year! And yet 60.8% of consumers in the U.S. reasoned that they weren’t planning on shopping in-store so that they could avoid the crowds. That’s good news for eCommerce businesses.

According to Shopify, in 2019, approximately 69% of Black Friday purchases were made through mobile devices. The remaining 31% were made through desktops. For 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Forbes reported that physical store traffic was down by 42.3%. Despite the decrease in foot traffic, the projected sales revenue for Black Friday sales for 2020 was $184 billion, but the actual revenue sat at $188.2 billion.

What does this all mean for eCommerce businesses?

COVID has ballooned online shopping behaviour. With online and mobile shopping gaining ground year after year, it’s important that you’re able to plan how you’re going to allocate your marketing and online advertising budget so that you can get the best results during this season. 

With that, we’ve noted these key Q4 dates to mark on your calendar so that you can make the most out of your digital marketing.

 

International Men’s Day, November 19

If your business offers a lot of products for men, then allocating a bit of advertising towards International Men’s might prove worth it, especially if you’re within the health and fitness industries, as this holiday is all about raising awareness for men’s health.

 

Black Friday, November 26

Also considered the last payday of the month for many people, Black Friday continues to be a shopping phenomenon that often marks the beginning of the Christmas holiday season. This, and Cyber Monday are considered the most important dates of Q4, if not the year, and are definitely dates you wouldn’t want to miss.

 

Cyber Monday, November 29

This can be considered the most important day of the year for your eCommerce business. Expect people to flock online in search of deals. And with the continuous increase in online shopping, you can expect that Cyber Monday might actually be bigger than Black Friday.

 

Free Shipping Day, December 14

Once December comes around, the first date to note is Free Shipping Day. Though not nearly as huge as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s a perfect opportunity to increase your eCommerce sales, as shipping costs are often a reason for customers to abandon their carts.

 

Super Saturday, December 18

Often also referred to as Panic Saturday, Super Saturday is actually the last Saturday before Christmas. There will always be plenty of customers that will wait until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping, and Super Saturday gives them just enough time to receive their orders at the last minute, before Christmas.

 

Christmas Eve / Christmas Day / Boxing Day, December 24-26

Of course, don’t discount these dates even if they are very last minute, especially if you’re able to accommodate same-day shipping for your eCommerce business, or if you’re offering digital products, services, and subscriptions. 

 

New Year’s Eve, December 31

The last and final holiday of the year! And while this is more focused towards parties and get-togethers, there will always be customers who, for whatever reason, perhaps weren’t able to give out gifts during Christmas, but will meet up with their loved ones on New Year’s Eve. If your business will remain open during the season, then they’d be the perfect target for you.

 

Mark Those Dates and Start Distributing Your Ad Budget

Now that you’ve got all the important dates marked up on your calendar, it’s time to consider how you want to distribute your Google Ads or Facebook Ads budget. While you want to spend most of your budget leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you want to make sure that you’re advertising all throughout Q4.

And if you’re thinking of pausing your ads during the Christmas break, we have to ask you to reconsider, as putting a gap in your advertising for 1-2 weeks can affect your conversions and results come January.

Your calendar is your best friend. So plan ahead and plan carefully so that you can make the most out of Q4 and the holiday season.

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