2022 Retail Marketing Calendar

January

With Post-Christmas sales attracting customers eager to spend their Christmas money and redeem gift vouchers, January is unsurprisingly an uberous month for retail. This month presents lots of opportunities to sell gift hampers and sell-through remaining stock.

January Key Dates:

• 1st January – New Year's Day
• 1st – 31st January – Dry January
• 1st – 31st January – Ginuary
• 1st – 31st January – Veganuary
• 17th January – Blue Monday
• 25th January – Burns Night
• 27th January – Chocolate Cake Day

February

In the wake of broken New Years resolutions, February offers sales opportunities that attract a wide customer base. With Valentine's Day and Random Act of Kindness Day, create some email campaigns and social media posts that bring customers back to your store to buy gifts for their loved ones.

February Key Dates:

• 1st February – Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger)
• 14th February – Valentine's Day
• 17th February – Random Act of Kindness Day
• 20th February – Love Your Pet Day

March

A busy month in our retail marketing calendar. World Book Day, International Women's Day, Mother's Day and the beginning of the Spring, should give you enough angles to promote your gift range. With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, you could even inject some green into your gift packaging with coloured shredded paper, tissue paper and ribbon.

March Key Dates:

• 1st March – Shrove Tuesday
• 1st March – St David's Day
• 2nd March – Ash Wednesday
• 3rd March – World Book Day
• 8th March – International Women's Day
• 17th March – St Patrick's Day
• 20th March – First Day of Spring
• 27th March – Mother's Day

April

As chocolate consumption reaches its peak this month (excluding Christmas, of course!), your retail marketing should be tight. Easter is an ideal opportunity to sell Easter Hampers, filled with chocolate eggs, simnel cake, and other sweet-tooth temptations. If food hampers aren't your thing, you can use Earth Day at the end of the month to promote your brand's commitment to the environment.

April Key Dates:

• 1st April – April Fool's Day
• 3rd April – Start of Ramadan
• 11th April – National Pet Day
• 15th April – Good Friday
• 17th April – Easter Sunday
• 18th April – Easter Monday
• 21st April – National Tea Day
• 22nd April – Earth Day
• 23rd April – St George's Day

May

Why not use this month to focus on World Baking or National Biscuit Day. There's also National Eat What You Want Day, and the end of Ramadan at the beginning of the month so you shouldn't struggle for shopping incentives.

May Key Dates:

• 1st May – End of Ramadan
• 2nd May – Early May Bank Holiday
• 11th May – National Eat What You Want Day
• 17th May – World Baking Day
• 20th May – World Bee Day
• 29th May – National Biscuit Day

June

There are plenty of reasons to enjoy a picnic this month with The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, Father's Day, and the start of Wimbledon. The most enjoyable part of eating alfresco is undoubtedly eating the delicious food, not preparing it! Shoppers will be thankful for ready-made food hampers, packed with picnic delights.

June Key Dates

• 1st – 30th June – Pride Month
• 2nd June – Spring Bank Holiday
• 3rd June – Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday
• 11th June – World Gin Day
• 15th June – National Beer Day (UK)
• 19th June – Father's Day
• 21st June – Summer Solstice
• 27th June – Wimbledon Starts (ends 10th July)

July

Another quieter month in our retail calendar. Use the downtime to do a review of the first half of the year. Did you meet your monthly sales targets? What were your biggest wins and fails? Apply any lesson learned to the remaining six months of your 2022 marketing activity to reap the rewards come the end of the year.

July Key Dates:

• 7th July – World Chocolate Day
• 25th July – School Holidays (differs per school)
• 30th July – International Day of Friendship

August

It can be a bit challenging to get customers' attention during the school holidays. That's why it is important to put on your thinking caps and come up with something creative that will capture the attention of your target audience amidst all the distractions.

August Key Dates:

• 1st August – Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland)
• 9th August – Book Lovers Day
• 26th August – National Dog Day
• 29th August – Summer Bank Holiday

September

While September may seem like a slow month, you should use the quieter period to finalise your Christmas promotions, marketing plans, and retail display. Yes, we've mentioned the C-word in September, but preparation is key to achieving your best Christmas sales yet.

September Key Dates:

• 1st September – Autumn Begins
• 5th September – Back to School (differs per school)

October

Aside from Halloween at the end of this month, there are lots of other marketing opportunities for your brand in October. If you want to exceed your sales targets this month, use International Coffee Day to sell coffee gift baskets and hampers. If you're a Farm Shop, Deli or Greengrocers, you can similarly use World Vegetarian Day to promote fruit and veg boxes.

October Key Dates:

• 1st – 31st October – Go Sober for October (Stopober)
• 1st October – International Coffee Day
• 1st October – World Vegetarian Day
• 10th October – World Mental Health Day
• 16th October – World Food Day
• 30th October – British Summer Time ends
• 31st October – Halloween

November

You probably love and dread this month at the same time - it can be a stressful time for retailers. You'll be aiming for your highest sales this month, with customers looking for big discounts and starting their Christmas shopping early.

By making sure your wicker hampers, gift boxes, and packaging supplies are topped up at the start of the month, you'll be more prepared for the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Even if your brand doesn't subscribe to the hype of Black Friday, this is still a great opportunity to make the most of the increased footfall.

November Key Dates:

• 1st – 30th November – Movember (Men's Health Awareness Month)
• 1st November – World Vegan Day
• 5th November – Guy Fawkes Night
• 11th November – Remembrance Day
• 13th November – Remembrance Sunday
• 25th November – Black Friday
• 28th November – Cyber Monday
• 30th November – St Andrew's Day

December

If you stuck to your marketing plan, then hopefully perseverance has paid off and you've by now met your sales targets. And if not, don't worry, there's still time to close the gap. Demand for gifts continues right up until Christmas Eve, as customers shop for last-minute presents for their friends and family. Gift hampers are ideal for those eleventh-hour shoppers, looking for ready-made gifts with no wrapping required!

December Key Dates:

• 14th December – Christmas Jumper Day
• 21st December – Winter Solstice
• 25th December – Christmas Day
• 26th December – Boxing Day
• 27th December – Bank Holiday
• 31st December – New Year's Eve