Plan your 2022 marketing campaigns ahead of time.
In 2021, the retail calendar year was disrupted. It’s no secret that many of you suffered from store closures and supply chain disruptions.
But with stability on the horizon, retailers are gearing up for a more profitable year to come.
And yet, this retail year will be unlike any other. We’re expecting more digital growth than ever before, more online shopping, and more disruption to the in-store experience.
With that in mind, we’ve prepared a 12-month calendar to help you get back on your feet. Download the full calendar for free at the end of this article.
In this retail 2022 calendar, we outline every big retail event from national holidays to awareness months.
If you’re a marketer, merchandiser, CRO specialist, or even the eCommerce manager, you may be thinking you know about these big events already.
But if you thought that Valentine’s Day was the only occasion for celebration in February – think again.
From events like Cancer Awareness Day to National Pizza Day, there’s no shortage of events you can start to think around, especially if you’re product offering and audience are on board.
Here’s a rundown of all the retail events of 2022.
January is your new year kick-off. But it's also a pretty slow season when it comes to retail. Especially after the booming 'golden quarter' of last year.
In fact, we've analyzed our shopping data from October to December of 2021 to help retailers understand what trends drove behavior.
It's January, so it's time to start brainstorming your initiatives for the year!
1st New Year’s Day
1-31st Dry January
17th Blue Monday
27th Chocolate Cake Day
Blue Monday is behind us – yay! Many shoppers will experience February with relief mingled with monthly salary pay-ups.
Shopping is back on the agenda.
1st Chinese New Year
1st-28th LGBTQI History Month (UK)
1st Black History Month (US)
4th World Cancer Awareness Day
9th National Pizza Day
13th Super Bowl Sunday (US)
14th Valentines Day
17th Random Act Of Kindness Day
March madness – for more things than sport. In the Western hemisphere, Spring is in the air, and many consumers are already starting to prepare their wardrobes for this occasion.
1st National Pancake Day
3rd World Wildlife Day
3rd World Book Day
8th International Women’s Day
13th BAFTAs
17th St Patrick’s Day
20th First Day of Spring
20th International Day of Happiness
27th Mother’s Day (UK)
From Ramadan to Easter, there are a lot of events this month that will be close to the cultures and hearts of your customers.
Tread with care this month. Learn the behaviors, likes, and dislikes of who you are marketing to so that you can improve their experiences through the lens of their lifestyle. Psychographics is key for this.
1st-31st Diversity Month
1st April Fool’s Day
2nd-3rd Ramadan Begins
10th Siblings Day
11th National Pet Day
15th Good Friday
17th Easter Sunday
18th Easter Monday
19th Bicycle Day
21st National Tea Day
22nd Earth Day
May is all smiles, from celebrating laughter to cocktails. It doesn't matter what your product offering is, if you can navigate this month in relation to its important events, you can begin to create cultural as well as emotional ties with your customers.
Plus, this month is technology day! As experts working in both consumer behavior and tech, we've provided a whole list of content you can consume on these topics.
1st-31st Mental Health Awareness Month
1st World Laughter Day
2nd-7th Teacher Appreciation Week
4th Star Wars Day
8th Mother’s Day (U.S., Can, Aus)
13th World Cocktail Day
11th National Technology Day
15th International Day of the Family
17 World Telecommunication Day
18th World AIDS Vaccine Day
29th National Biscuit Day
31st Anti-Tobacco Day
World Environment Day is this month, and it's not just important for us Earthlings to come together. But for retailers too, since the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world.
How do you avoid greenwashing? How do you repurpose your textile waste? What does the future of retail sustainability look like?
It's time to start thinking around these ideas. For unique insights into the life cycle assessment of your products, read our interview with Sjoerd Herlaar.
1st-31st LGBTQIA+ Pride Month
3rd National Donut Day
4th National Cheese Day
5th Wold Environment Day
15th National Beer Day (UK)
19th Father’s Day
20th Juneteenth (U.S.)
20th World Refugee Day
21st World Music Day
21st First Day of Summer
21st International Day of Yoga (Summer Solstice)
25th June Midsummer’s Day
Who doesn't love July? Spirits are high, and marketing opportunities are too. If anything, it's time to start preparing for the Back to School season which is just around the corner (sorry to break it to you school kids).
1st Canada Day
4th American Independence Day
6th International Kissing Day
7th World Chocolate Day
11th-12th Amazon Prime Day (est.)
14th Bastille Day (Fr)
17th World Emoji Day
18th International Nelson Mandela Day
30th International Friendship Day
What is it about your products that make them stand out to your customers? Understanding behavior is important to optimizing your campaigns.
Our advice?
Use August as a wind-down month to start preparing for retail's golden quarter. You'll need all the preparation you can get.
1st Black Business Month
8th International Cat Day
9th Book Lover’s Day
15th Indian Independence Day
19th World Photography Day
26th National Dog Day
29th National Sports Day
While also the first month back to school for students, it's also the first month back to school for teachers.
The lesson is this: When marketing your products, don't forget who's consuming them and who holds the ultimate purchasing power (for back to school, this is often parents).
Luckily, we've curated some great content that will help you learn more about products and the customers buying them.
1st-31st Self Improvement Month
2nd Coconut Day
5th Teacher’s Day / Back-to-school
6th Labor Day (U.S.)
10th Mid-Autumn Festival
11th Grandparents Day
14th Hindi Diwas
17th Oktoberfest (Ger)
27th World Tourism Day
30th International Podcast Day abou
29th World Heart Day
Sober October anyone? Many consumers do Dry January, but for some, October is the month to get back in shape. Especially with the start of school, sports seasons, and seasonal changes, many shoppers are looking for products to help them through the month.
1st International Coffee Day
4th World Animal Day
2nd International Day of Non-Violence
10th World Mental Health Day ‘
22nd National Nut Day
25th World Pasta Day
26th National Pumpkin Day
24th Diwali
31st Halloween
Movember month! Practice segmentation so that your marketing campaigns can effectively be personalized based on demographics (e.g., gender). Or, if you're looking for IT maturity, personalized based on behavioral data.
1st-31st Men’s Health Awareness Month
1st World Vegan Day
5th Guy Fawkes Night
11th Remembrance Day
21st FIFA World Cup begins
25th Black Friday
26th Small Business Saturday
28th Cyber Monday
That's a wrap! You've made it through the year! Don't forget to use data from last year's golden quarter to help you optimize, personalize, and get ready for the Christmas crunch time.
1st-31st Holiday Season Starts
4th National Cookie Day
3rd Make A Gift Day
10th Human Rights Day
12th Green Monday
14th Christmas Sweater Day
21st Winter Solstice
24th Christmas Eve
25th Christmas Day
26th Boxing Day
28th Bank Holiday (UK)
31st New Year’s Eve
Download the full calendar here and keep it handy as one of your road-mapping tools!
