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Key dates for your 2022 retail calendar

Written by Emma Sharp on 7 minute read

Explore some of the key holidays and events that you might want to add to your retail sales calendar for 2022.

What is a retail sales calendar and why should you use one?

A retail calendar is a calendar used by the retail industry. It is designed to help with sales comparability between years and pinpoints important dates and events that can help to shape businesses’ product ranges, social media campaigns, discounting strategies and more. 

A retail calendar differs from the regular 12-month calendar because it breaks the year into four and five-week periods, instead of months. Primarily, 4-4-5 and 4-5-4 methods are used. 

Retail sales are heavily dependent on weekend days, and the number of weekend days in a specific month varies from year to year. To make it fair, a retail planning calendar separates the year, so each ‘month’ has the same number of weekend days. 

We’ll explore some of the key dates for your 2022 retail calendar.

Key Dates for Your 2022 Retail Calendar

From international holidays and awareness events to weird and wacky celebrations like Cheesy Socks Day and Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, in 2022, there really is a theme for every day of the year.

As a retailer, you need to know what’s coming up so you can create impactful marketing campaigns around special dates to attract new customers, engage with existing ones and boost sales. 

Whether you’re focusing on brand awareness, product launches or a general seasonal push with content, discounts, events and giveaways, the possibilities are endless. 

Plan your promotions and initiatives in advance, starting with a retail calendar. To help, we’ve listed some of the key dates month-on-month.

January

Many businesses find January to be one of the quietest months of the year, but for online retailers, it can be incredibly lucrative. Although the Christmas rush is over, lots of consumers will be looking to redeem their gift vouchers, spend Christmas money and find a bargain in the post-holiday sales. 

What’s more, events like Veganuary and Dry January will be dominating the conversation. This is the perfect opportunity to roll out deals that promote health and wellbeing.

  • January 1st: New Year’s Day
  • January 17th: Blue Monday
  • January 25th: Burns Night
  • January 26th: Australia Day

February

February is the month of love, and for retailers, just the time for a sales boost. The run-up to the 14th certainly deserves a creative, well-thought-out marketing campaign. Connect with your customers and promote commonly purchased products, gifts and experiences.

  • February 1st: Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year)
  • February 14th: Valentine’s Day 

March

Signifying the beginning of spring, March includes several important holidays to create compelling marketing campaigns around. With International Women’s Day, Mother’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day there are lots of key campaigns to think about.

  • March 1st: Pancake Day
  • March 8th: International Women’s Day
  • March 17th: St Patrick’s Day
  • March 20th: International Day of Happiness
  • March 27th: Mother’s Day

April

As a retailer, there’s an opportunity to amp up your marketing efforts for the Easter holiday. What’s more, National Pet Day is a great opportunity to push gifts and accessories for your audience’s animal companions. You can also consider Earth Day the perfect time to promote eco-friendly products.

  • April 7th: World Health Day
  • April 10th: Siblings Day
  • April 11th: National Pet Day
  • April 15th: Good Friday
  • April 17th: Easter Sunday
  • April 22nd: Earth Day

May

From Cinco de Mayo to World Cocktail Day, May provides some exciting dates for the retail calendar. It’s also the start of wedding season, so it’s a great time to focus on wedding gifts, clothing and accessories.

  • May 2nd: May Day
  • May 4th: Star Wars Day
  • May 5th: Cinco de Mayo
  • May 8th: Mother’s Day
  • May 13th: World Cocktail Day

June

Joyful June – you can look forward to Pride month, the festival season and the start of summer. It’s an important month when it comes to the retail marketing calendar. This year, there’s also a special celebration for Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

  • June 3rd: Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee
  • June 4th: National Cheese Day
  • June 8th: Best Friends Day
  • June 10th: World Gin Day
  • June 19th: Father’s Day

July

Although July is seen as one of the slower months, there are still many events to consider capitalizing on. School summer holidays commencing is the ideal time to promote products and activities for families and children, and American Independence Day has become an internationally recognized holiday, so there are plenty of opportunities for new and exciting campaigns.

  • July 4th: American Independence Day
  • July 7th: World Chocolate Day 
  • July 9th: Eid al-Adha begins

August

Summer may be coming to an end, but the back to school season is a great excuse to focus your marketing efforts. 

There are also some interesting, lesser-known dates to get creative with. For example, for World Photography Day, you could ask customers to create user generated content and share images of the products they’ve bought from you, or perhaps you could offer beer-themed promotions for International Beer Day.

  • August 5th: International Beer Day
  • August 13th: National Prosecco Day
  • August 16th: National Rum Day
  • August 19th: World Photography Day

September

September marks the end of summer holidays with Labor Day weekend. During this time, you should be preparing your retail business for the hectic final quarter. However, that’s not to say you need to put campaigns on hold. Think of creative promotions relating to Oktoberfest and International Chocolate Day.

  • September 13th: International Chocolate Day
  • September 17th – October 3rd: Oktoberfest

October

As October beckons the start of autumn and the clocks go back, many people seek a distraction from the cold weather ahead. In 2020, the US spent over $8 billion on Halloween, making it impossible to ignore on your calendar. Every retailer should make an effort to get involved, even if it's just by posting something spooky on social media.

  • October 1st: International Coffee Day 
  • October 1st: World Vegetarian Day 
  • October 19th: International Gin & Tonic Day
  • October 31st: Halloween

November

During November and December, retail sales see the highest activity. This is no surprise. Consumers will be searching for the best deals, so you must be prepared and know your marketing strategy for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, whatever that may be. Increasingly we see retailers marketing their offers across the month of November.

With World Vegan Day at the beginning of the month, it’s also a great time to launch and promote any vegan offerings you may have. 

  • November 1st: World Vegan Day
  • November 5th: Bonfire Night
  • November 11th: Veterans Day 
  • November 11th: Singles Day
  • November 19th: International Men’s Day
  • November 24th: Thanksgiving Day
  • November 25th: Black Friday
  • November 28th: Cyber Monday

December

The countdown to Christmas begins, and Q4 can be the most important period of the year for many retailers. There are huge opportunities, but also extreme competition. How can you make your brand and products stand out through seasonal campaigns?  It's also important to be aware of the last postage and delivery dates and perhaps incorporate these into your marketing strategy.

Super Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas, is one of the most profitable dates of the year for retailers, and let’s not forget about the Boxing Day sales.

  • December 11th: Christmas Sweater Day
  • December 17th: Super Saturday
  • December 24th: Christmas Eve
  • December 25th: Christmas Day 
  • December 26th: Boxing Day 
  • December 31st: New Year’s Eve

 Awareness Months

In addition to these celebrations, there are also a number of month-long observances throughout the year that you should be aware of. While these aren’t necessarily marketing opportunities, it is important to be familiar with them.

  • Black History Month: February (US and Canada), October (UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands)
  • Women's History Month: March
  • LGBT Pride Month: June
  • Movember: November

Staying Up to Date

Keeping these dates in mind and planning promotions around them can ensure your business is relevant and competitive all year round. You can even go one step further by having affiliates spread the word of these seasonal campaigns on your behalf. With Awin’s  advertiser tools, businesses will have several methods of effectively promoting their affiliate programs and getting their brand in front of their target audience.