Shoppers aren’t waiting around for holiday music to start playing in stores to get into the holiday spirit on eBay. Our data makes it clear: shoppers are making their lists and checking for deals as early as September. In fact, there are several upcoming dates on the calendar sellers can take advantage of to boost their sales beyond just Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So instead of waiting until December to debut your biggest deals and launch your Promoted Listings campaigns, take advantage of the following dates to capitalize on increased shopper traffic.
Early October – Halloween season
Things are about to get spookier. While it only lasts for a month, Halloween kicks off the holiday season. Ghosts and ghouls invade our front lawns and shoppers are dreaming up ideas for their Halloween costumes. Home and Décor will be top of mind for many shoppers browsing on eBay.
Early November – Holiday preparation
Family and friends are expected to travel more this year to make up for the 2020 pandemic shutdown. Our recent survey found that 78% of eBay Shoppers plan to participate in holiday gatherings this year. That means homeowners across the country will play host to dozens of visitors. Shoppers will be browsing for holiday decorations to fill their homes with, kitchen appliances and cookware for proper meal prep, tabletop serveware and much more in preparation for hosting visitors.
November 25th – Thanksgiving
Traditionally a day for spending time with family and feasting on turkey dinner, Thanksgiving has transformed into a shopping holiday of its own. Yet, we’re expecting a slightly different rollout of Thanksgiving deals this year. With more people staying local, and brick and motors choosing to close as a ‘thank you’ to employees on the front lines, we expect Thanksgiving holiday shopping will shift to being online this year. With 81 million searches on eBay occurring last year during Thanksgiving, sellers should be prepared to take advantage of the potential increase in site traffic.
November 26th – Black Friday
Black Friday is the most recognizable and biggest shopping day of the year. And it’s not just for in-person shopping anymore. Sellers and major retailers have expanded their sales on Black Friday to include their digital storefronts. eMarketer projects Black Friday to be the second-biggest online spending day, rising 22.9% in retail eCommerce sales compared to last year. Make sure your listings are stocked and ready for this massive shopping date.
November 27th – Small Business Saturday
The last Saturday of November is reserved for Small Business Saturday. It’s a shopping day dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners during the busiest shopping weekend of the holiday season. And with eBay being the home of so many small businesses, we expect our online marketplace to see more traffic throughout the day.
November 29th – Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday is synonymous with eCommerce. eMarketer expects Cyber Monday to once again rank as the heaviest online spending day of the year, growing 21.9% compared to last year. We know shoppers are ready and waiting to log in and grab exciting deals on eBay, as we averaged 150 million daily item views during Cyber Monday last year. This is a great time to launch your marketing campaigns with Promoted Listings Standard or Promoted Listings AdvancedBETA.
November 24th – December 3rd – Cyber Week
Every day is a big shopping day during Cyber Week with some of the biggest deals of the season up for grabs. With an average of 84 million daily searches on eBay, shoppers are expected to rely more heavily on online marketplaces like eBay for the holiday shopping this year.
December 5th – First Sunday of December
The first Sunday of December is historically one of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season – and entire year for that matter – on eBay, with 92 million searches and 158 million item views happening in 2020. Sellers should be prepared for excited shoppers looking to capitalize on great deals from the comfort of their own couch.
December 13th – Green Monday
Haven’t heard of Green Monday? Coined by eBay in 2017, Green Monday is one of the biggest sales days of the holiday season. With 10 days until Christmas, and the window for standard shipping expiring, With 81 million searches and 143 million item views in 2020, Green Monday 2021 is anticipated to be the biggest one yet.
There’s no time to waste. Enlist the help of our Promoted Listings portfolio to boost your listings throughout the entire holiday season, with a focus on the dates listed above. Make sure your listings appeal to not only the holiday shopping crowd, but also the slew of self-gifters hunting for deals right now. Don’t spend all your budget by December 25th, as shoppers will continue their seasonal shopping well into January Check out our other holiday content for marketing inspiration and other tips to excel this holiday season.
