Strategies for success: Using a gift card calendar
We often hear leading retailers ask us ‘when is the best time for a gift card outside of Christmas?’. Our answer is usually – ‘when you promote it!’
Consumers love choice – until it becomes overwhelming. Report on trends found that 64% of consumers say they always or occasionally feel overwhelmed by choice, and a recent consumer report discovered that already 54% of consumers experience so much frustration that they abandon e-commerce sites if they can’t choose.
Gift cards offer an easy choice to make as consumers, yet when we try and sell, we often sway towards giving too many options, or prescribing what we believe works best. Take Valentine’s Day. Whatever you sell, you’ll have an idea of the products that might move well at this period. But is offering an easy option in the form of a gift card additionally or instead of your own stock actually a smarter move? A 2020 study of over 2000 people showed that 20% of women and 17% of men would give a gift card – beating wine, fragrances and trips out. (Source)
We think it’s well worth looking at.
That’s why we think offering a gift card calendar to refer back to can keep your campaigns fresh. Whether you decide to add your gift cards into the mix of your social, email or paid promotions, or go all in by offering gift cards instead of your usual offering, it’s a great thing to come back to.
Below we’ve put a few sample events in. Don’t just look at these as ways to run simply a social media message – think about how you can do a deep integration with email, paid advertising and optimized web pages to give your gift cards the best chance of success!
January
1st January – New Year’s Day
1st – 31st January – Dry January
17th January – Blue Monday
February
1st February – Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger)
1st – 28th February – LGBT History Month
13th February – Superbowl Sunday
17th February – Random Act of Kindness Day
20th February – Love Your Pet Day
March
1st March – Shrove Tuesday
1st March – St David’s Day
1st March – Pancake Day
2nd March – Ash Wednesday
3rd March – World Book Day
8th March – International Women’s Day
13th March – BAFTA’s
17th March – St Patrick’s Day
20th March – First Day of Spring
27th March – Mother’s Day (UK)
27th March – BST starts
April
1st April – April Fool’s Day
3rd April – Ramadan Start
15th April – Good Friday
17th April – Easter Sunday
18th April – Easter Monday
22nd April – Earth Day
23rd April – St George’s Day
May
1st May – End of Ramadan
1st May – Labor Day (UK)
2nd May – Early May Bank Holiday
8th May – Mother’s Day (USA)
31st May – Spring Bank Holiday
June
1st June – Global Day of Parents
1st June – 30th – Pride Month
2nd June – Spring Bank Holiday
3rd June – Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday
19th June – Father’s Day
21st June – Summer Solstice
21st June – Beginning of Summer
25th June – Midsummer’s Day
27th June – Wimbledon Starts (ends 10th July)
July
4th July – American Independence Day
17th July – World Emoji Day
25th July – School Holidays (differs per school)
26th July – Back to School (ends early September)
30th July – Islamic New Year
30th July – International Day of Friendship
August
1st August – Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland)
29th August – Summer Bank Holiday
September
1st September – Autumn Begins
5th September – Back to School (differs per school)
6th September – Labor Day (US)
27th September – World Tourism Day
October
10th October – World Mental Health Day
16th October – World Food Day
30th October – BST ends
31st October – Halloween
November
5th November – Guy Fawkes ‘Bonfire Night’
11th November – Remembrance Day / Veterans Day (USA)
13th November – Remembrance Sunday
25th November – Black Friday
26th November – Small Business Saturday
28th November – Cyber Monday
29th November – Giving Tuesday
December
21st December – Winter Solstice
25th December – Christmas Day
26th December – Boxing Day
28th December – Bank Holiday
31st December – New Year’s Eve