Retail Marketing Calendar 2022: Key Dates, Campaign Ideas & Ready-to-Use Templates

You can’t just wake up one day, realize it’s an important holiday, and create a celebratory campaign on the fly. A strategy like that is bound to fail—or, at least, wouldn’t get the traction it deserves.

This is exactly why we’ve created this retail marketing calendar for 2022.

Use it to make a note of the key retail dates relevant to your brand in the coming year. Then, plan your marketing campaigns around them ahead of time—like exclusive product launches, giveaways, and special discounts.

There’s a one-page ecommerce marketing calendar PDF with all the dates. We then cover each month in more detail, including some holiday marketing examples to help spark ideas and templates you can use to get started.

Let’s go 👇

NOTE: For an updated list of 2023 dates, check out our latest post with the retail marketing calendar 2023 🙌

Retail marketing calendar 2022

Before we dive deeper into the dates for each month and share some useful examples and templates, here's a quick one-page overview of your ecommerce marketing calendar for 2022:

EDITOR'S INSIGHT:

How to use these retail dates

We tried our best to fill this ecommerce calendar with a range of dates from around the world. This includes holidays, sporting events, awareness days, themed days—anything you could build a marketing campaign around.

Some of these dates will be irrelevant to your business, so make sure to cherry pick the ones you can find an angle on. There's also a lot more 'niche' dates that we decided not to list here (National Cow Appreciation Day, anyone?). I suggest browsing the National Today website for an extensive list of these.

Don't forget, you can use the templates provided to create your campaigns now and schedule them to go live ahead of time using ConvertFlow's Broadcast Campaigns feature 💪

~ Michael Glover
Content Marketing Manager, ConvertFlow

January key retail & ecommerce dates

There’s no particular theme to this month, except the general New Year concept. Lots of important dates to celebrate and acknowledge, though.

Most of all, aim to spread positivity—all that cold and staying indoors can make people gloomy, after all. We've included a few light hearted days to help you do this.

Here are your dates:

• Jan 1st: Happy New Year
• Jan 2nd: National Science Fiction Day
• Jan 15th: National Bagel Day
• Jan 16th: Religious Freedom Day
• Jan 17th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Jan 17th: Blue Monday
• Jan 20th: Get to Know Your Customer Day
• Jan 21st: National Hugging Day
• Jan 24th: National Peanut Butter Day
• Jan 26th: Australia Day
• Jan 27th: National Chocolate Cake Day
• Jan 31st: National Hot Chocolate Day 

Campaign example: Samaritans #BrewMonday campaign

Blue Monday is recognized as being the "saddest day of the year" due to a combination of bad weather, long nights and the lingering aftermath of the festive glut.

So, Samaritans ran a campaign encouraging people to virtually catch up and chat with their loved ones—even colleagues.

The aim? Spreading positivity.

Turn the saddest day of the year on its head yourself by planning a similar campaign to spread smiles. It could involve anything from a VIP customers’ virtual gathering to a buy one, get one free deal.

February key retail & ecommerce dates

February is Black History Month in the US and Canada and LGBTQ History Month in the UK and parts of Europe—potentially pretty important dates to commemorate for people in these regions.

• Feb 1st: Chinese New Year
• Feb 2nd: Groundhog Day
• Feb 4th: World Cancer Day
• Feb 9th: National Pizza Day
• Feb 13th: Super Bowl Sunday
• Feb 14th: Valentine’s Day
• Feb 15th: Singles Awareness Day
• Feb 17th: Random Act of Kindness Day
• Feb 20th: Love Your Pet Day
• Feb 21st: Presidents’ Day (US)

Campaign example: Ferrero Rocher helped make memories

For Valentine’s Day, Ferrero Rocher asked fans to share a photo of their Valentine using the #FerreroValentineSweeps hashtag and tag them on Instagram or Facebook:

The campaign attracted significant social engagement.

But that’s not even the best part. By giving away a $400 gift card and a 30-minute tele-consultation session with gifting expert and lifestyle influencer, Alison Deyette, Ferrero Rocher was able to help build memorable experiences for the winners.

Pair with an influencer yourself for a Valentine’s Day giveaway. Decide what you want buyers to do (tag a friend, shop for a certain amount, take a picture with your product) to enter the contest.

Be sure to announce the contest rules and giveaway on your socials and create a giveaway landing page to share all participation rules in one place.

March key retail & ecommerce dates

March is the start of spring for those in the northern hemisphere as well as hosting lots of important dates. It’s also the month of college basketball event, March Madness.

• Mar 1st: Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday)
• Mar 3rd: World Wildlife Day
• Mar 8th: International Women’s Day
• Mar 17th: St. Patrick's Day
• Mar 20th First Day of Spring
• Mar 20th: International Day of Happiness
• Mar 21st: World Poetry Day
• Mar 23rd: World Puppy Day
• Mar 27th: Mother’s Day (UK) (In May for most countries)
• Mar 29th: Mom & Pop Business Owners' Day

Campaign example: Nike’s powerful video showcases a mother's struggle

Nike saluted moms by capturing their pregnancy and postpartum journeys in a video featuring athletes like Serena Williams, Alex Morgan, and Bianca Williams, among others:

The video not only pulled the right heartstrings but it was also a great Mother's Day marketing campaign for the sportswear giant's maternity line, Nike (M).

If it aligns with your target demographic, think of some ways you can empower mothers in March (or May in the US and Canada).

April key retail & ecommerce dates

April sees celebrations as the year’s Diversity Month. It’s also National Poetry Month in the US as well as when all of Easter, Ramadan, and Passover fall in 2022.

• Apr 1st: April Fools' Day
• Apr 2nd: Ramadan Begins (ends May 2nd)
• Apr 7th: World Health Day
• Apr 11th: National Pet Day
• Apr 15th-18th: Easter Weekend
• Apr 15th: Passover
• Apr 20th: 4/20
• Apr 22nd: Earth Day
• Apr 23rd: World Book Day
• Apr 28th: National Superhero Day

Campaign example: Innocent Smoothies & Heinz collaborate for April Fools' Day

For April Fools' Day, Innocent and Heinz teamed up to create a fake combination of their two products, SMOUP—for smoothie and soup together:

Labeling it “liquid gold,” the concept engaged fans all over social because of how unappetizing it sounds.

You can easily steal this idea for April Fool’s Day—create hype on social, design a mockup product—complete with a fake product landing page to grow your engagement.

On your landing page, you can also add an action button that asks people to join your newsletter, gives them a discount, or anything else.

May key retail & ecommerce dates

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and has a number of key dates, including:

• May 1st: World Laughter Day 
• May 2nd: Early May Bank Holiday (UK)
• May 2-6th: Teacher Appreciation Week
• May 4th: Star Wars Day
• May 5th: Cinco de Mayo (US)
• May 7th: National Fitness Day
• May 8th: Mother’s Day (US, Can, Aus)
• May 17th: World Baking Day
• May 25th: National Wine Day
• May 30th: Memorial Day

SEE MORE: 6 Memorial Day Marketing Ideas You Need to Try This Year

Campaign example: NAKEDCASHMERE & evolvetogether spread mental health awareness 

NAKEDCASHMERE and evolvetogether spread awareness for the Mental Health Awareness Month with a unique spin—launching limited-edition masks with the phrase “be kind to your mind.”

The best part: for every few masks sold, NAKEDCASHMERE donated $5 to Silence the Shame, a non-profit organization that educates on mental health.

You can replicate a similar initiative for May 2022.

But, make sure you’re loud and clear about your donation-based collaboration effort. Use a sticky bar (as NAKEDCASHMERE did in the screenshot above) to keep the initiative front and center as visitors browse your products.

June key retail & ecommerce dates

June is LGBT Pride Month—something you’ll want to commemorate or acknowledge if you stand for diversity and inclusivity. It’s also when most people in the northern hemisphere start to think about all things summer.

• Jun 3rd: National Donut Day
• Jun 4th: National Cheese Day
• Jun 5th: World Environment Day
• Jun 14th: Flag Day (US)
• Jun 19th: Father’s Day
• Jun 20th: Juneteenth (US)
• Jun 21st: World Music Day
• Jun 21st: First Day of Summer
• Jun 27th: Wimbledon Tennis Championships Start

SEE MORE: 6 Father’s Day Marketing Ideas Sure to Drive Sales

Campaign example: Chobani launches exclusive summer flavors

Natural and alternative dairy brand, Chobani, celebrated summer with a simple yet effective campaign that added summer flavors to its product collection:

This is a classy way to grow sales as it triggers FOMO—customers don’t want to miss the exclusive flavors as they know they’ll be gone once the season ends.

Launch an exclusive summer shopping collection come June 2022. And, make sure buyers don’t miss it—use one of our sticky bar templates to announce your exclusive summer collection.

July key retail & ecommerce dates

This is a huge month in the ecommerce marketing calendar as it contains US Independence Day, Canada Day, and is usually when Amazon schedules its Prime Day event. Summer feelings also continue to go around—in the northern hemisphere, at least.

• Jul 1st: Canada Day
• Jul 2nd: Made in the USA Day
• Jul 4th: Independence Day (US)
• Jul 6th: International Kissing Day 
• Jul 7th: World Chocolate Day
• Jul 11-12th: Amazon Prime Day*
• Jul 14th: Bastille Day (France)
• Jul 17th: World Emoji Day
• Jul 30th: International Friendship Day

*Estimated based on previous year

SEE MORE: Best 4th of July Marketing Ideas, Examples & Templates

Campaign example: Bose drove around in ice cream vans to beat the heat

Audio brand, Bose, took a love for ice cream in the summers to the next level. They joined forces with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream for National Ice Cream Day—driving trucks in New York and Los Angeles that sold both company’s products:

This is a great example of leaning on one of those more obscure dates to create a campaign around.

Can’t think up a collaboration that involves driving around the city in an ice cream van? No worries. Get creative—work with another store while keeping it all online.

For example, let’s say you run a stationery shop. Team up with an online book store and give discount codes to customers to get their favorite book at reduced prices for summer reading.

August key retail & ecommerce dates

August is celebrated as Black Business Month. Children also start returning to their schools around this time of the year, which is huge for stationery stores and retailers selling school and office supplies.

• Aug 8th: International Cat Day
• Aug 9th: Book Lovers Day
• Aug 19th: World Photography Day
• Aug 19th: World Humanitarian Day
• Aug 21st: World Senior Citizens’ Day
• Aug 26th: International Dog Day

Campaign example: ASOS’ unique discount code for its back-to-school campaign

By sharing their student email address, students got 15% off from Aug through the end of September from ASOS:

But here’s the creative twist: the unique student discount code was made valid until students graduated. Talk about creating long-term customers for your shop!

There's also a nice little bit of audience segmentation by asking whether the person is interested in Menswear or Womenswear. This means ASOS will only send relevant follow-up emails and messages.

September key retail & ecommerce dates

September celebrates friendships as the Friendship Month of the year as well as it being Self Improvement Month. It also contains Labor Day in the US—a key holiday where many consumers expect retail sales and discounts to be taking place.

• Sep 5th: Labor Day (US)
• Sep 10th: Mid-Autumn Festival
• Sep 11th: Grandparents’ Day
• Sep 17th: Oktoberfest Begins
• Sep 22nd: First Day of Fall
• Sep 27th: World Tourism Day
• Sep 30th: International Podcast Day 

Campaign example: Awara Sleep’s discount paired with a freebie bundle for Labor Day

Awara Sleep launched a pre-Labor Day sale—slashing not just its mattress price, but also throwing in $499 worth of freebies:

There are two key things to note here:

1. The offer itself is incredibly appealing (instead of simply being a standard percentage discount)
2. Tying the countdown timer to the Labor Day holiday makes the urgency feel both real and believable to the visitor

October key retail & ecommerce dates

October marks the start of that crucial Q4 period in the ecommerce marketing calendar—a big sales driver for many online and offline retailers. Halloween and fall/autumn are also two key themes throughout the entire month.

• Oct 1st: International Coffee Day
• Oct 4th: World Animal Day
• Oct 10th: Columbus Day (US)
• Oct 10th: Indigenous Peoples’ Day (US)
• Oct 10th: Canadian Thanksgiving
• Oct 10th: World Mental Health Day
• Oct 16th: Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup Begins
• Oct 24th: Diwali
• Oct 31st: Halloween 

Campaign example: Chewy’s Halloween-themed product collection 

For this month, Chewy took a fun approach by introducing Halloween-themed pet products, including themed costumes and “frightfully fun” toys to delight its customers:

Like Chewy, give your entire store a themed look for Halloween by customizing your CTAs. You can even launch a limited-time, theme-based product collection.

November key retail & ecommerce dates

From a retail calendar point-of-view, November is most known for the craziness of Black Friday Cyber Monday Weekend. But, the month as a whole is also notable for Movember—geared towards spreading awareness around men’s health issues.

• Nov 8th: US Mid-Term Elections
• Nov 11th: Veterans’ Day
• Nov 13th: World Kindness Day
• Nov 19th: International Men's Day
• Nov 21st: FIFA World Cup 2022 Begins
• Nov 24th: Thanksgiving (US)
• Nov 25th: Black Friday
• Nov 26th: Small Business Saturday
• Nov 28th: Cyber Monday
• Nov 29th: Giving Tuesday

Campaign example: Buttah Skin self-care-promoting discount in collaboration with an influencer 

With too many sales around the town, Buttah Skin kept it simple yet effective by pairing with an influencer—giving 30% off.

The biggest thing to note here is that they marketed a compelling message: treating your body like royalty.

The lesson? Instead of offering another plain, site-wide discount for Black Friday, try something different.

It could be as simple as creating an attention-grabbing theme, like Buttah Skin above. Or, as bold as intentionally being anti-Black Friday and closing your store(s) to build brand awareness, like REI’s #OptOutside campaign:

December key retail & ecommerce dates

Lots of celebration and shopping this month—Christmas, New Year, Hanukkah, and other Holiday activity. Make sure to target a “final shipping day for Christmas delivery” and plaster it across your store to build urgency.

• Dec 3rd: Make A Gift Day
• Dec 12th: Green Monday
• Dec 14th: National Free Shipping Day (US)
• Dec 17th: Super Saturday
• Dec 18th: Hanukkah Begins (ends Dec 26th)
• Dec 21st: First Day of Winter
• Dec 24th: Christmas Eve
• Dec 25th: Christmas Day
• Dec 26th: Boxing Day (UK)
• Dec 26th: Kwanzaa
• Dec 31st: New Year's Eve 

Campaign example: Coca-Cola’s Christmas hashtag campaign

For the holiday season, Coca-Cola created the #HolidaysAreComing hashtag based on its famous holiday tagline.

The mega-brand then uses the hashtag and pairs with local influencers to launch contests, surprises, discounts, and more throughout the world:

While you might not have a budget the size of Coca-Cola’s, you can always steal ideas from the soft drink giant.

For instance, market with influencers, host contests, give freebies and plan surprises like free Christmas shopping or gift wrapping guides for customers.   

For this last idea, make sure you create trigger-based popups to give away free stuff—a gifting guide for someone checking out or leaving your site is a good idea, for example.

Start creating your 2022 retail calendar campaigns today

With this retail calendar laying out all the popular holidays and key ecommerce dates for 2022, we hope you’re ready to crush your sales goals for the year.

Just remember to plan out your campaigns ahead of time and always make sure to account for inventory and resource requirements with accurate seasonal sales forecasting.

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