Successful retailers have learned to keep Black Friday and Cyber Monday top of mind, even when they are more than six months away. The same goes for traditional holidays like Christmas and Mother’s Day. These are moments when traffic to product pages surge and “add to cart” activity accelerates.
As critical as those dates are, there are a number of non-traditional eCommerce peak periods that can have an equally positive effect on revenue and growth. As long as you don’t overlook them, and are proactive in making sure you have a solid technology plan in place, they could make all the difference in reaching your sales objectives.
Identifying Non-Traditional Peak Periods
Peak periods in eCommerce aren’t limited to a single day and can even extend to a month or more. A good example is the back-to-school season, as well as the period in Spring when many people receive an income tax refund.
Other seasonal peaks are related to holidays or days that celebrate niche interests and special causes. Some examples include:
Earth Day
If you’re developing products in a way that protects or conserves natural resources – such as sustainable fashion and apparel – this could be an ideal moment to show you’re aligned with your target audience’s core values.
National Pet Day
Whether your customers own a dog, a cat or even a goldfish, they’re probably looking for an excuse to pamper them. This is when you can sell everything from designer collars and toys to healthy food alternatives.
Small Business Saturday
Even if you’re primarily a consumer-focused brand, make sure you don’t miss the chance to sell a designer suit or handbag to company owner, along with desk accessories and stylish office furniture that reflects their ambitious plans.
These non-traditional eCommerce peak periods are just skimming the surface. Consider local/cultural events such as Cinco de Mayo or sporting events like the World Cup as you brainstorm and plan. According to a 2024 study, traffic to eCommerce stores around the world grew by 18.94% year-over-year on Black Friday alone. These other calendar dates could have a significant eCommerce traffic surge too.
Crafting a Responsive eCommerce Strategy
Planning around non-traditional holidays doesn’t mean starting from scratch. Your approach here could build off what you’re already doing to take advantage of other online shopping peak moments.
As always, you should start with data, looking at how traffic has fluctuated throughout the year and if it indicates your customers are spending more time shopping around the same time as a special day on the calendar. If you have first-party data available, use it to segment these customers for specific campaigns.
Next up is tailoring your content and promotions to let customers know that you’re aware of the holiday and are ready to help them celebrate. Follow through on this by curating product selections that align with the theme or intention of the special occasion so they can spend less time browsing aimlessly on your site.
Lead time can be a big factor here: just as you might prep for Cyber Monday starting in early Spring, you might need to build steps into your regular marketing and sales processes to make sure you’re ready for a non-traditional eCommerce peak period.
Omnichannel Visibility is Key
Customers may buy from you in any number of ways. That means you need to be visible wherever shoppers are, which is the heart of an omnichannel marketing and sales strategy.
For example, make sure your digital presence is optimized for common touchpoints beyond your brand’s website, such as:
Google Shopping
Many consumers now begin looking for their next must-have item by typing keywords into a search engine. By running Google Shopping ads, you can guarantee your brand will come up at the top of the results page, with the ability for shoppers to click through and place an order.
Social commerce
Whether they’re celebrating Father’s Day, National Siblings Day or the NBA playoffs, consumers are likely sharing posts about it with their friends and family. This makes it critical to establish a storefront on social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to ease the shopping process.
Online marketplaces
Customers may prefer to see a wider selection of products by browsing on marketplaces like Amazon, Zalando and Asos. Integrating with an online marketplace not only provides your brand greater visibility but helps you to build trust and brand reach.
As you develop your omnichannel approach, continuously test and measure the results after the online shopping peak moment so you can assess which channels performed best.
Why Product Feed Management Can Make or Break Success
The heart of any eCommerce experience is the product data that fuels what customers see when they start shopping. Unfortunately, this is an area that’s prone to error if your team is updating product feeds manually. The risk could be even higher during short-term peak periods, especially if staff are focused on many other tasks at the same time.
This is why some of the world’s most recognizable brands have partnered with Highstreet.io. By investing in automated product feed setup, configuration and management, brands can:
- Keep listings up to date across platforms.
- Optimize titles, descriptions, and images for each channel.
- Respond quickly to demand changes or stock issues during sudden traffic spikes.
Automation and Integration Lead to Better Results
Recognizing non-traditional eCommerce peak periods is only the first step. Execution is what drives revenue.
With automated product feed management in place, brands can tailor their marketing content in a way that feels authentic and relevant to audiences celebrating a special occasion.
If the result leads to an eCommerce traffic surge, the inventory control features of product feed management will also ensure that no one’s disappointed by finding products that are out of stock.
Integration with multiple marketplaces, meanwhile, allows brands can meet customers wherever they are, increasing chances of conversion.
Smart eCommerce brands don’t just wait for December—they’re ready all year long. See a demo of how Highstreet.io’s platform can help your brand thrive during the online shopping peak moments that matter.