2024 Global Events Calendar: Key E-Commerce Dates for Retailers

What are the most important e-commerce events in 2024, starting from May to the end of the year? Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (dates depend on the country), Pride Month (whole of June), Halloween (October 31st), Black History Month (October – in the UK), Black Friday (November 29th), Cyber Monday (December 2nd), Christmas (December 24th and 25th) and New Year’s Eve (December 31st). Do you want to find out more? Then read on!

Global E-Commerce Events in 2024 You Need to Get Ready For

There are many smaller and bigger events and holidays every year, but only some of them are really important for almost all retailers. Thus, on our list, we present you with the key e-commerce events in 2024 that are great opportunities for your business – save the dates and prepare your shop for them.

Mother’s Day

First and foremost is Mother’s Day. The dates of this holiday vary depending on the country, so you need to consider where you sell your products. Here’s a brief overview of the most important markets:

• UK: March 30th

• US: May 12th

• France: May 26th

• Belgium: May 12th (second Sunday in May)

Before this holiday, you can expect quite a rise in sales, especially if you sell jewellery and clothes, since these are the categories that people spend most on this holiday. Additionally, you should consider adding greeting cards to your products since they are one of the most commonly purchased presents.

You should pay special attention to this event if you sell your products to the US – it’s an extremely important holiday there. At Landmark Global, we can help you with the logistics side of this event with our parcel delivery service from the United Kingdom to the USA.

Father’s Day

Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is celebrated on different days depending on the country. When is this holiday celebrated in the most important cross-border markets?

• UK: June 16th

• US: June 16th

• France: 16th

• Belgium: June 9th

Who needs to focus on this holiday particularly? E-commerce stores that sell clothing and electronics. Surprisingly, personal care products are also popular gifts that you need to promote. Nevertheless, it’s good to act on this holiday even if you don’t sell products from the top categories.

Pride Month

The next important global e-commerce event in 2024 is Pride Month – June. While generally, this is a bit less sales-oriented month, you should use it as an opportunity to show your support for the LGTBQ+ community. How to do that?

You can start a line of pride products, as some of the largest brands did, change your social media profile picture to include a pride flag and create content that resonates with the community. Also, prepare for a slight increase in sales.

Black History Month

While in the US, Black History Month is celebrated in February, in the UK, we celebrate it in October. Like in the case of Pride Month, it’s an event during which you should focus on showing your support for the community.

Black Friday

On November 29th, you can expect the first significant sales peak, as it’s the most important global event for e-commerce shops – Black Friday. How to prepare for it?

Firstly, you should find reliable e-commerce parcel delivery services, such as those offered by us at Landmark Global. This is to ensure that your products will be delivered without any delays despite the peak. Secondly, you need to consider what kind of discounts you want to give your customers and how to display them. While it might differ based on the industry, the general principle is that you should label most discounts with the discounted percentage and use sums of money instead for luxury goods. Finally, you should plan your marketing strategies – you have to promote your Black Friday offers in advance, sometimes, it’s good to start even a month prior.

Cyber Monday

Initially, Black Friday was meant for traditional retail, while Cyber Monday was for e-commerce stores. In practice, this boundary has blurred, so you have to prepare for both events at once. When is Cyber Monday? On December 2nd.

Christmas

Near the end of the year, we have two important e-commerce events, the first being the 2024 Christmas Eve. It’s a major sales peak since everybody buys presents for this holiday, so the way you handle it may impact your overall year’s results significantly. How to get ready?

Firstly, we recommend reading our 8 tips to manage peak season. Secondly, invest in marketing and start promoting your products ahead. What categories will sell during this period? Whatever makes a good present, so no matter what you sell, you should expect a major rise in sales. Therefore, remember to restock in advance.

New Year’s Eve

Finally, there’s the New Year’s Eve. While it’s the beginning of e-commerce slowdown months, it’s the final opportunity to get those extra sales. Many customers expect end-of-year discounts, so you should expect slightly increased traffic until the end of the year.

The Takeaway

We hope that with our calendar of key global e-commerce events in 2024, you will be able to get ready and make the most of them. Remember – you need to plan in advance since some strategies (e.g. SEO) won’t give you immediate results, and any delays might make you miss out on huge opportunities.

Also, you have to prepare your store logistically – restock before every peak, start a partnership with a reliable logistics company like Landmark Global, and ensure that your systems are ready for a larger volume of orders, as delays or cancellations are unacceptable during these events. Also, don’t forget about the returns – they are bound to increase with the number of sales – check our returns management services and see how we can help you with that.

You might also read: Strategies for Proactive Peak Season Planning and Collaborative Success