The New Year holidays are a well-known hot time for gifting. The magical atmosphere of Christmas, which infects everyone around for new purchases, makes business owners focus the entire attention on attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. Earlier we shared the best examples from the market which can be useful for those who operate their own photo products business online. However, the end of December isn’t the only time that should be used for boosting sales. Today we’re going to review more holiday ideas in 2021 (starting from March) for your inspiration.
Easter
When? April, 4
Although Easter is primarily a religious holiday, nowadays it is becoming more secular, like Christmas. While Santa Claus and the Christmas tree are the main attributes of December time, Easter is strongly associated with colorful eggs and, of course, the Easter Bunny. Some parents traditionally leave a basket of gifts for children who believe it was brought by the Easter Bunny.
So, what about using these cute symbols for souvenirs and personalized gifts? For example, make in advance a few templates for Easter cards and other printed materials with pictures of Easter eggs, bunnies, and spring flowers, as Colorland did. Especially, this idea can gain huge popularity for businesses operating in the parenting market.
Mother’s Day
When? Depends on the country: March, 14 (UK), May, 9 (US, Canada, Singapore, Germany), May 26 (Poland), etc.
While there is no question that mothers deserve gratitude all year round, Mother’s Day is the perfect occasion to truly celebrate them. There is no one date for all countries, so you can start the marketing campaign depending on the region you operate in or create a permanent section dedicated to that holiday if you are shipping overseas. Having a gift shop is perfect for this occasion; and you’ll get better results by offering a catalog with the most suitable presents, as it’s realized by Photobook Worldwide. They have a whole page ‘Gifts for Mom’ (and another one for dads), which greatly simplifies the choice of a gift:
Halloween
When? October, 31
For the United States and Western countries in general, Halloween is one of the most popular holidays. The survey showed 172 million Americans were planning to take part in Halloween activities in 2019. Classic Halloween parties are filled with pumpkin decorations, creepy music, and mysterious games.
A great way to bring attention to your brand is to run a Halloween-themed contest. It should boost traffic to your e-store and, consequently, drive sales. Let your customers generate their own content. Let’s say, ask for the creepiest, or on the contrary, funnies Halloween photo, and then deliver the winners a photo book or calendar with their pictures.
The user-generated content can be displayed on your website and social media as well for building brand awareness. Another way to achieve this is by creating Pinterest boards and pinning Halloween ideas there.
Diwali
When? November, 4
Diwali, the festival of lights, is a major Hindu holiday during which candles and lanterns are lit everywhere. It is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Myanmar, and not only. The Diwali festival lasts 5 days, and this time is traditionally associated with family feasts, fireworks, and what’s important for us, the exchange of special Diwali cards and gifts.
It is also one of the main festivals bringing together overseas Indian diasporas from around the world. There is no need to ship goods to India or other Asian countries to consider creating a Diwali campaign. Representatives of this culture who live abroad are your potential target audience. In addition, competition in this segment is not tense – only a few companies from North America / Europe can offer Diwali-themed photo products.
Black Friday / Cyber Monday
When? November, 26 and November, 29
Black Friday is the largest retail day in the United States, Canada, Europe, and nearly every country in the world. Basically, it’s an unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, which covers Cyber Monday (a 24-hour online shopping marathon) too. Just look at these numbers: On Cyber Monday 2020 the spent amount grew 15.1% over the year, which setting a record for the largest US online shopping day ever. The trend of doing everything online during the pandemic and the early start of advertising played an important role here. Business owners were ‘warming up’ and attracting shoppers from October.
With product guides, discounts, daily sales, email marketing, now is the perfect time to fully promote your e-commerce brand. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and offer new sales ideas for your customers.
Boxing Day
When? December, 26
Boxing Day is celebrated in most English-speaking countries. It’s similar to Black Friday in terms of being the main shopping holiday. Remember Boxing Day comes after Christmas, so your message should differ from a Christmas one. For example, you can emphasize that this is a great time to please someone on New Year’s Eve, including yourself.
Last year Rossmann run a contest #SchenkDichSelbst (can be translated as #GiftYourself) on social media. All participants who posted a photo or a short video could get a funny onesie. This hashtag was not chosen by chance. Rossmann also suggested choosing personalized gifts (pillows, mugs, calendars) under the slogan ‘make yourself a gift without having to wrap yourself’.
A little tip at the end
The holiday season is a great occasion to connect with customers and provide them with exciting ways to engage with your photo products brand. For better results, conduct customer analysis and pay attention to their cultural background and habits. Based on this, you can create a holiday calendar that may be of interest to your target audience, and as a result, you will be one step closer to gaining their trust.
