Your Complete 2021 Global eCommerce Calendar

Christmas is prime time for direct-to-consumer (DTC) eCommerce brands, all hoping to make a killing from festive online sales. But Christmas is only one of the many active shopping days/seasons in the year that you should be capitalizing on. 

So we made this downloadable, month-to-month global retail promotion calendar with all the prime opportunities you don’t want to miss out on. Use it to help create winning strategies throughout the entire season! 

Why You Need to Plan Your Marketing Activities Around International Retail Dates

We’ll be shocked if you’re shocked: the holiday season drives some of the highest sales of the year for eCommerce brands. In fact, online holiday sales in the US have grown between 20% and 30% year-over-year in 2020 despite the pandemic, according to market research firm Forrester. And this trend is global. 

But there are other dates that benefit eCommerce brands and consumers alike. For example, International orders surge by over 35% before Black Friday. 

For businesses looking to convert unprecedented international retail dates into record-breaking growth, planning early and prioritizing online efforts are a must. For scaling eCommerce businesses, planning around these dates is a great way to test a new, international market. 

For established eCommerce businesses, preparing by localizing promotions strategies will unlock greater value without giving away value in regions.

Top Retail Events Differ Across Countries

Global eCommerce is taking off. While the US has dominated the global eCommerce market for the past decade, today China is the world's largest eCommerce market, and countries in Asia and Latin America are some of the fastest-growing eCommerce markets in the world. 

The best way to expand into these markets? 

Plan your marketing campaigns around key retail shopping dates and seasons in your target markets. An important but often-overlooked detail when selling cross-border is the fact that many holidays and seasonal dates are celebrated on different days in different parts of the world. 

Here are some examples of key online shopping days that differ across countries:

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the top shopping dates in the US and the Western world, Singles day is the top shopping date in China and Asia. 

This year, US consumers spent a record-breaking $10.8B online on Cyber Monday, a 15% increase from 2019. 

To put that into perspective, Alibaba drove over $30B in sales both within China and across other markets on Singles day within a 24-hour period. 

As we mentioned, major holidays differ in different countries. Take Fathers day for example, which is celebrated on different dates even amongst countries in the Western world. 

So how do you tap into these Global eCommerce events?

How to Tap into Global eCommerce Events

To tap into global retail dates, you’ll need to plan your promotions to target key global retail dates throughout the year, including your marketing campaigns, inventory, and logistics.

With global marketing campaigns, you should create personalized campaigns based on locations. This way, you can target customers by region to distribute your offers on key global retail dates. 

Note: Keep in mind that you should have all aspects of your website localized based on the location of your target consumers. 

Now, both your inbound and outbound campaigns should be tailored to specific geographic segments. For example, you could use geolocation pop-up banners on your website to target inbound customers visiting from specific countries with personalized offers. 

On the flipside, your outbound campaigns should also be personalized by distributing discount codes to specific customer segments via email or SMS marketing. 

Major International Retail Holidays for 2021 

Jan - Mar

• Late Jan (AU): Back to School

• 7th Feb (US): Super Bowl Sunday

• 14th Feb (Global): Valentine’s Day

• 19th - 23rd Feb (UK): London Fashion Week

• 8th March (Global): International Women’s Day

• 14th March (UK): Mother’s Day

Apr - Jun

• 9th May (EU): Europe Day

• 31st May (UK): Spring Bank Holidays

• 20th June (US / UK / EU): Father’s Day

• 11th June - 11th July (UK / EU): UEFA Europe 2020

Jul - Sep

• 28th July (Global): Amazon Prime Day

• 1st Sept (US / UK): Back to school

• 6th Sep (AU): Father’s Day

• 30th Aug (UK): Summer Bank Holiday

Oct - Dec

• 31st Oct (Global): Halloween

• 9th - 11th Nov (Australia): Click Frenzy

• 11th Nov (Global): International Men’s Day

• 26th Nov (Global): Black Friday

• 30th Nov (Global): Cyber Monday

• 26th Dec (Global): Boxing Day

Want the Full List?

Download your 2021 Global eCommerce Calendar here, or by clicking the pop-up in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.

Our month-to-month, printable calendar includes major international retail events, tax and compliance dates so you can stay on top of it with a glance. 

It dives deep into Australia, US, UK and Europe retail dates and will help you create winning strategies throughout the entire season —  we promise you’ll want to check it multiple times! 

Accelerate your Global Expansion with Airwallex’s US, UK, EU and HK Global Accounts

To go global you need Multi-Currency Accounts. With Airwallex, you can open accounts in the US, UK, EU and HK in minutes to operate like a local in international markets.

That means you can receive payouts from eCommerce platforms, BNPL, or from your wholesalers in their local currency. 

Eliminate unnecessary international transfer fees, double conversions, and stay on top of your global cash flow with faster transactions!

Related article: Should You Set Up a US Entity For Your eCommerce Business?