E-commerce promotions to drive sales (USA & Canada markets)

No matter where your business is in the vast field of e-commerce, it’s essential to create detailed promotion plans to drive more sales revenue and expand the customer base. Furthermore, these promotional strategies can convert leads into loyal customers.

1. Seasonal Promotions for E-commerce Businesses

In any E-commerce business, customers tend to shop for themselves and their loved ones during big holidays, which offers a huge advantage over regular days. Seasonal promotions are special offers or discounts tied to an event during the year. These days could be International Women’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or an international event like Back to School.

The benefits of seasonal promotions include the following:

  • Increasing traffic hits and acquiring new customers
  • Driving more sales revenue
  • Converting leads into loyal customers

The Best Days to Shop in US & CA Market

During the year, there are several days for planning seasonal promotions. In this article, we divide them into three main categories:

Public Holidays

These days are usually for cultural reasons or celebrations when almost everyone does not have to go to work or school, like Thanksgiving, Labor Day, or Valentine’s Day.

Annual Events 

Annual Events are some specific time in a year that directly affect the business market, such as Back to School, which will take place from the middle of August till September. 

Unofficial Holidays

These holidays are only celebrated by various groups or individuals but are still recognized or held for some reason. For instance, National Coffee Day in America is held for coffee brands, and they leverage that day to run sale promotions. World Vegan Day is also held annually on the first day of November.

Every season in the year has special days for promotions and sales. Therefore, e-commerce businesses, especially worldwide ones, need to set them on the calendar and have a detailed plan to foster revenue growth and nurture customer relationships.

2. Best practices for Seasonal Promotions

Tailoring a season promotion is not only limited to the discount rate; it also needs careful consideration of several factors. Here are some notes for successful season promotions:

The relevance of product – service and holiday theme

Only some holidays or events during the year are suitable for sale promotion. If your brand discount constantly in all circumstances, the result can damage your profit margin.

Therefore, depending on the type of products, an e-commerce business should choose some adequate period for promotions. For instance, Valentine’s Day would be the best day for jewelry; Back to School is ideal for backpacks, school supplies, etc.

How to promote your promotions

No matter how deep the discount is, it all be worthless if it’s not widely promoted. Clear and concise content on all marketing channels like the physical store, social media, email marketing, or paid media would effectively create a significant impact. This step should be executed sooner than the promotion and review from time to time.

Logistics and customer service

These two factors play a crucial role in sales promotions when the number of orders and product demand rises higher than usual. The business reputation can be damaged due to peak season delays. Therefore, it’s necessary to have precise delivery & receipt policies on the website and in the confirmation email. This way, you can limit the frustration of the customers.

To take advantage of these days, IMP complies with a list of the most popular seasonal promotions worldwide, especially in US & CA markets.

3. Best occasions for seasonal promotions

Planning a holiday calendar over a year is a strategy that IMP always advises its e-commerce clients. This way, they can prepare for the upcoming occasion and select the suitable ones for their business. The brand also has a broader perspective on offering an appropriate discount rate and creating a concise key message.

IMP collects the biggest holidays during the year with relevant case studies on how we executed these seasonal promotions. 

New Year Sale, January 1st

LOFT welcomes the new year of flash sale campaign on email

New Year’s celebration is a popular occasion for almost everyone. Therefore, the first week of the new year has increased demand for all markets, which is ideal for promotions and new product launching.

Sale promotions that suit for New Year are:

  • Buy 1 get 1 free
  • Flash Sale
  • Combo
  • Cashback
  • Clearance sale

Valentine’s Day, February 14th

The sweetie Valentine’s Day with offer 20% off from RICKHAM

Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love and romance. Although everyone usually chooses gifts for their intimate relationship, your promotion strategy could leverage this Day to honour friendship or any meaningful connections. Instead of giving coupons, you can add diversity to your promotion by offering free gifts, gift cards with purchases, etc.

International Women’s Day, March 8th

Diane von Furstenberg honors International Women’s Day with a 15% sale off all items in store 

International Women’s Day is to celebrate gender equality and the accomplishments of women around the world. The occasion should not be ignored if you’re running a fashion, cosmetics, or jewelry business. Moreover, it’s vital to leverage brand storytelling to establish emotional connections with customers based on the theme of the sale promotion.

A client of IMP has successfully empowered women throughout March with promotions and a mini-game on social media, resulting in more than $2 million in sales.

[Explore How IMP Celebrated Women’s Day to Increase Sales]

Easter, April 15th–18th

The promotion applies to only customers who use the code in an email from Hotel Chocolate

Easter is a religious holiday associated with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The holiday is the most important festival of the year for most Christians, which does not bring any commercial value.

However, every year, e-commerce companies spend more time and money promoting their products to increase sales, making this day more appropriate for offering discounts on clothing, holiday decorations, and household goods.

[Read IMP Case Study]

Mother’s Day, May 8th

The conditional offers from a brand to incentivize customer purchases on Mother’s Day

Around the world today, Mother’s Day is celebrated to express respect, honor, and love towards mothers, especially for America, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan, Philippines and South Africa. In fact, this date is one of the three most important holidays in America.

By running a campaign to honour the most influential woman in one’s life, the business is able to raise brand awareness, increase sales and build customer loyalty. However, Mother’s Day is celebrated on a different date worldwide; it’s necessary to research other cultures before executing any promotions.

[Read IMP Case Study]

Summer Sale, June 21st

An attractive offer from Happy Socks on Summer Sale, not only 40% sale of but free shipping

Summer is, in general, a pretty slow season for many businesses. But nowadays, e-commerce brands usually offer promotion during this period, making it an annual sale day not to be missed. 

[Read IMP Case Study]

Labor Day, September 5th

The offer was applied in the online store of Threadless on Labor Day

Labor Day is an annual celebration of American and Canadian workers’ social and economic achievements. In most cases, fireworks are used to mark a significant transition in time for welcoming a new year or a new millennium. On the weekend of Labour Day, people usually shop for a new season since it’s often associated with the end of summer. However, many countries in Europe, Asia, and Central-South America celebrate Labor Day on the first day of May.

Halloween – October 31st

Blue Aron celebrates Halloween with a hot deal offer, 40% off on every order

On October 31, Halloween is a holiday that mainly celebrates spooky and frightening things like ghosts, witches, monsters, and haunted houses. Nowadays, Halloween is held worldwide as an occasion for one of the biggest sales of the year. It’s a perfect day to add some character to your promotion theme and a little fun to your marketing campaign.

[Read IMP Case Study]

Thanksgiving, November 24th

Offer 25% off for Thanksgiving from a cook ingredient brand

Thanksgiving is held in many countries around the world, especially in America. Hence, the occasion should not be ignored if your business aims to fit in with the US market. This seasonal promotion’s key message must be associated with Thanksgiving, such as the thankful and appreciation for customer support. 

Black Friday & Cyber Monday – November 25th – 31st

An alluring limited-time offer for the biggest sales of the year from Sephora
Tea sale 30% off and freeshipping for customer on Cyber Monday

Black Friday is the biggest sales day in the retail and e-commerce market. Often, companies have prepared months beforehand. Cyber Monday is a major online shopping event which takes place on the first Monday after. As time passes, people tend to shop more on Cyber Monday, making the day typically outperform Black Friday in terms of sales.

[Explore How IMP Create Black Friday & Cyber Monday to Boost Sales]

Christmas, December 24th–25th

An example offer for Christmas Day to attract customer to shop online

Although Christmas marks a religious and cultural holiday for billions of people worldwide, the holiday has long become a global shopping occasion. Therefore, it’s an ideal opportunity to increase sales and generate new demand to reduce the inventory. 

Leveraging Christmas to archive multiple marketing goals is the best way to create more impact and value for your business. 

4. Conclusion

Above are the most popular seasonal promotions for e-commerce businesses. Remember to stay updated on the newest shopping trend and provide suitable content & products that meet targeted markets.

But whatever seasonal promotions decide on, businesses must associate the holiday theme with marketing campaigns to establish connections with customer demands and significantly increase sales.

Contact IMP today for advice on how to implement these promotional tactics effectively.

IMP provides digital marketing services for global ecommerce companies. Our solutions help businesses increase their profits sustainably and reduce dependency on paid media.