{"id":7224,"date":"2014-11-12T08:24:14","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T16:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.dlvr.it?p=7224&preview_id=7224"},"modified":"2026-04-14T04:44:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:44:31","slug":"social-media-strategy-with-key-holiday-trigger-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dlvrit.com\/blog\/social-media-strategy-with-key-holiday-trigger-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Facebook to Capitalize on the World’s Biggest Holiday Spending Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong>\u00a0Find out what Boxing Day, Singles Day and social media<\/a><\/strong> have in common with U.S. holiday shopping days. \u00a0As a bonus, we’ve added some great easy to implement Facebook promotions to capitalize on the world’s holiday spending.<\/p>\n

(#WorkloadWednesday<\/a>) Anyone in retail will tell you there is no rest for the weary<\/a>, especially in the final quarter of the year. Given the limitations on your time and energy during the holiday season, you need to focus your social media strategy on certain key dates.<\/p>\n

From a marketing point of view, what are the key \u201cretail shopping\u201d dates? Twenty years ago, the U.S. shopping date list was relatively short. The season started the day after Thanksgiving and ended Christmas Eve. Following Christmas, you could expect shopping chaos until shortly after the New Year.<\/p>\n

Now, both the length of the season and the number of important shopping dates has expanded, with the addition of such artificial dates as Black Friday<\/a>, often regarded as the beginning of\u00a0the holiday shopping season and Cyber Monday, created by marketing companies to persuade people to shop online<\/a>. Given the international nature of the cyber market, this is what your short list of shopping dates includes in 2014:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
THE SHORT LIST – KEY\u00a0RETAIL HOLIDAY SHOPPING DATES<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Description<\/strong><\/td>\nDates in 2014<\/b><\/td>\nObserved By<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Early Holiday Shoppers<\/td>\nSeptember until Thanksgiving<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
*Singles Day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\nNovember 11<\/td>\nSingles in China and rest of Asia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thanksgiving<\/td>\nNovember 27<\/td>\nU.S.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Black Friday<\/td>\nNovember 28<\/td>\nU.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Mexico<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Small Business Saturday<\/td>\nNovember 29<\/td>\nU.S.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cyber Monday<\/td>\nDecember 1<\/td>\nU.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, Portugal,
\nGermany, Chile, Columbia, Japan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Giving Tuesday<\/td>\nDecember 2<\/td>\nU.S.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hanukkah<\/td>\nDecember 16 \u2013 24th<\/sup><\/td>\nJewish observers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Christmas Eve<\/td>\nDecember 24<\/td>\nChristians, many non-Christians<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Christmas<\/td>\nDecember 25<\/td>\nChristians, many non-Christians<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n
*Boxing Day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\nDecember 26<\/td>\nUnited Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia,
\nNew Zealand, and other Commonwealth nations,
\nas well as Norway, France, and Sweden.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
*These dates are not usually included in a U.S. centric marketing short list but, depending on your market, you may wish to include these in your social media marketing plan.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

What is Biggest Day Ever for Online Retailers in the UK?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Boxing Day<\/a>\u00a0is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when servants and\u00a0tradesmen\u00a0would receive gifts, known as a “Christmas box”, from their bosses or employers. In the UK, Canada,\u00a0and some Australian states, Boxing Day is primarily considered a shopping holiday, much like Black Friday<\/em>\u00a0in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Statistics gathered by Experian Hitwise<\/a>, the online competitive intelligence tool, show that Boxing Day 2013 was the biggest and busiest day ever for online retailers in the UK<\/strong>. British Internet users made 129 million visits to retail websites on Boxing Day 2013, a 15 per cent year-on-year increase, making December 26 the biggest online shopping day ever. \u00a0This increase was up from the 40% gain made on Boxing Day 2012, the former “busiest day ever”.<\/p>\n

\"Boxing<\/a><\/p>\n

What is the World\u2019s Biggest Shopping Day?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let’s go a little more global. What is the world’s biggest shopping day touting sales near $6 billion USD last year<\/strong>? Care to guess? According to an article by Forbes<\/a>, it is Singles Day, November 11,\u00a0<\/strong>sometimes referred to as 11\/11 or one-one-one-one.<\/p>\n

\u201cFueled by Alibaba<\/a>, the enormous, publicly-held, online marketplace, it\u2019s the biggest shopping day of the year. Bigger than Black Friday. Bigger than Cyber Monday. It is the day when single people in China and the rest of Asia are out shopping in full force. That\u2019s an estimated 270 million shoppers whose sales\u00a0\u201cobliterated\u201d<\/a>\u00a0last year\u2019s Cyber Monday. Although the numbers are not in yet, this year\u2019s Singles Day online shopping bonanza is likely to break all the records set in 2013. If Alibaba can keep its pace, it may do more than $8 billion USD in sales in 24 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

UPDATE 11\/11\/14: From BBC News<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"11\/11\/14<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Should You Care About Boxing Day or Singles Day?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a small business, with limited time and money, do you care about Boxing Day or Singles Day? You should consider it! They are unique here in the U.S. and an excellent way to educate your audience. Here is one easy to implement idea from Forbes to promote your business and spread holiday cheer via social media at the same time:<\/p>\n