Want to win the battle for overseas traffic? Don’t miss these festivals in December this year!

This article starts from overseas history and culture, summarizes the important overseas festivals in December, and points out where the overseas traffic is in December. It is recommended for those who do foreign trade to read.

As December approaches, seafarers' expectations for the "peak season" are constantly rising. For many Western countries, especially the United States, Christmas is undoubtedly an extremely important festival of the year, and its status is equivalent to that of China's Spring Festival.

With the arrival of the ice and snow season, the ski season has officially begun. With the recovery of the foreign tourism market, ski products will show great potential.

1. December 2023 Overseas Marketing Calendar

December to March: Ski season (Europe and America)

December 1, Farmers’ Day (Ghana)

December 1, National Day (Romania, Central Africa)

December 2, English Breakfast Day (UK)

December 2, National Day (UAE, Laos)

December 5, St. Nicholas Eve

December 5, Father’s Day (Thailand)

December 5, Independence Day (Finland)

December 6, Constitution Day (Spain)

December 7, Little Candles Day (Colombia)

December 11, Green Monday

December 12, Double 12 Shopping Festival (Southeast Asia, China)

December 16 is Reconciliation Day in South Africa

December 16th, Bahrain National Day

December 15-18, Kasugawakomiya Festival, Japan

December 25, Christmas Day

December 26, Boxing Day (UK)

December 26-31, year-end promotion

December 28, National Day (Qatar)

December 28, Flour Day (Spain)

December 31, New Year’s Eve

1. Ski season

Time: December to March of the following year

Markets involved: Europe, America, Japan, Russia

Ice and snow sports have always had a large market in Europe and the United States. The United States, Canada, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and other countries all have a deep tradition of skiing. In addition, neighboring Japan and Russia are also markets that overseas sellers pay attention to.

Marketing Tips

One of the pain points in the field of skiing consumption is the high price of equipment. Therefore, it is recommended that cross-border sellers can win through product cost performance and bring interesting products to consumers as much as possible. In addition, product comfort and user experience can also be highlighted in marketing materials.

2. English Breakfast Day

Time: December 2

Markets involved: UK

Since 1975, the British have designated December 2nd of each year as International English Breakfast Day, hoping to achieve three things through this day: first, to help traditional chefs, farmers and butchers; second, to continue British food culture; and third, to spread English breakfast to all parts of the world.

In addition, they also provided some recommended music to go with English breakfast, including a hip-hop song and an electronic song.

Marketing Tips

1. Introduce the history and culture of the English breakfast and its popularity in the UK and Ireland.

2. Mention the importance of English breakfast in starting the day with energy.

3. Guide readers to taste authentic English breakfast or enjoy this delicacy in a Western restaurant.

3. Father’s Day

Date: December 5

Markets involved: Thailand

Father's Day in Thailand is on December 5th every year. Compared with Father's Day in China, Father's Day in Thailand is very grand because this day is also the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. Selecting "model fathers" on this day is one of the important activities of Father's Day in Thailand.

Marketing Tips

When using social media for marketing, overseas e-commerce companies are advised to use the #theme tag for Father's Day and add keywords such as "Father's Day", "Father's Day Gifts", and "Father". Or launch Mother's Day promotions on social media platforms to create a shopping atmosphere.

4. Green Monday

Time: December 11

The second Monday in December. eBay started the whole idea back in 2007 when the company realized that, on average, the second Monday in December was one of the most popular shopping days in December.

Marketing Tips

Promotion is the core of stimulating consumers' shopping desire on December 12. Member discounts, holiday gifts, tie-in promotions and other methods can all be used, and activities can be preheated in advance through emails, social media and other methods.

5. Double 12

Time: December 12

Markets involved: Southeast Asia

The annual Double 11 Shopping Festival is a festival that the entire industry celebrates. Various discounts, discounts, and promotions are naturally indispensable. As Lazada adheres to Alibaba's culture and brings the Double 11 Shopping Festival to Southeast Asia, it has also become an important e-commerce promotion node in Southeast Asia, and many e-commerce platforms and sellers will participate in it.

Marketing Tips

In order to do a good job on Double Eleven, it is necessary to let users feel the benefits, drive sales with discounts, and create a consumption scenario that satisfies users through means such as raffles, group buying, flash sales, and discounts. This is the easiest time to encourage users to place orders!

In addition, don’t forget the essence of Double 11 – Singles’ Day. We can initiate some topics related to being single, or combine Double 11 with Singles’ Day to stimulate the hot “singles’ economy”.

6. Boxing Day

Time: December 26

Markets involved: UK, Commonwealth countries

Boxing Day is a national holiday celebrated on 26 December (the day after Christmas) in the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth countries.

In the UK, stores hold big clearance sales on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. Boxing Day has become increasingly important to retailers, who sometimes extend the clearance day into "Boxing Week".

In Canada, Boxing Day is considered a statutory holiday, and in the days immediately following Boxing Day, retail stores hold clearance sales to sell off Christmas and used model products.

Marketing Tips:

• Introducing the origins and traditions of Boxing Day, particularly how it is consumed and celebrated in the Commonwealth.
• Promote post-Christmas sales and special offers to engage readers in shopping and gift-exchanging activities.
• Provide vacation and travel advice and encourage people to enjoy leisure and entertainment during the holidays.

7. Christmas

Date: December 25

Markets involved: Mainly Europe and the United States

Christmas is an important festival in Christianity to commemorate the birth of Jesus, also known as Christmas, the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, and the Feast of the Nativity of Jesus in Catholicism. Christmas is also a public holiday in many countries and regions, especially in Western countries where Christian culture is the mainstream.

During the festival, people will give each other gifts, hold banquets, and add to the festive atmosphere with Santa Claus, Christmas trees, etc. In addition, Japan, South Korea and other countries have been influenced by Christmas culture.

Marketing Tips:

• Launch Christmas limited edition products;
• Guide users to choose suitable Christmas gifts and promote Christmas-related products and services;
• Provides suggestions for festive cooking and decorating, and shares customs and activities for Christmas celebrations.

8. New Year’s Eve

When: December 31

Markets involved: Global

December 31st is the last day of the year and is celebrated all over the world. Midnight New Year's Eve celebrations are New Year's Eve activities in many countries, with bonfire parties, fireworks shows, singing and dancing performances and other important parts of the celebration.

Marketing Tips:

Offer limited-time offers such as discounts, buy one get one free, and free gifts to stimulate consumers' desire to buy. Create a buying boom during the holiday season to attract more customers to choose the brand's products or services.

2. Holiday Marketing and Overseas Marketing Calendar

14 days before the festival

Monitor website purchase and browsing data in real time, optimize in-site links, analyze budget allocation, etc. The most important thing is product selection, identify hot-selling products and develop advertisements for them, thereby driving sales and website traffic.

7~14 days before the festival

When posting advertisements on SNS, make sure to post at least one post a day that mainly introduces products or stores, but don’t post too frequently to avoid having your account blocked.

The ad title should highlight the discount and promotion strength. If conditions permit, you can design a separate promotion page or promotional product page.

7 days before the holiday

Post links to various activities on various promotional platforms such as Facebook, INS, Twitter, etc. to eliminate customers' shopping concerns and create shopping scenarios for them.

In the two days before the festival ends

We also need to increase publicity efforts, because some users who catch the tail end of holiday promotions often see that the discounts are not as big as before the holiday, and may become hesitant. We must not forget to serve this type of customer and attract another wave of customers in the next two days.

Author: Inpander Going Global, Official Account: Inpander Going Global

This article was originally published by @Inpander出海 on Operation Pie. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

The title image is from Unsplash, based on the CC0 protocol.