Marketing for the holiday shopping season happens earlier and earlier each year. But let's face it...the true rush for most shoppers is between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since Thanksgiving can fall anywhere between November 22nd and 28th, the number of days and weekends to sell in that holiday crunch varies by year. This year the season is a short as it gets...but on the bright side is only one day shorter than last year.
Do you have these dates accounted for in your calendar?
* Black Friday(s) The big holiday shopping spree is traditionally THE Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. But other Fridays are proving to be mini sales rushes when marketed as additional Black Friday sales.
* Cyber Monday(s) This is the online counterpart to Black Friday. The Monday after the holiday weekend is the largest online shopping day, but other Mondays are also proving to be strong spikes in online retail.
* Small Business Saturday, November 29. This retail holiday is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. After Americans indulge in Turkey, and Football on Thursday and Big Box Retail on Black Friday, they are encouraged to shop locally and support small businesses this day.
* Free Shipping Day. This online phenomena is growing in popularity. At the date of this blog post, the exact date for 2014 was not released yet. It will be in December and if you want to participate, you should plan to apply in early October.
* Plan your shipping calendar. Figure out how late you will ship items and guarantee delivery. Your shipping carrier will give you their calendar. You may need to tack on a day or two pick, wrap and pack those items on your end.
Smart planning is key to a successful holiday season. You can get a jump on the season with this handy calendar.
Download my 2014 Holiday Marketing Calendar Here.