February is the month of love—and brings with it the first gifting holiday of the year! It’s also the shortest month of the year, so you want to make sure you’re ready to make an impact quickly with your campaigns. The good news? There’s a holiday or sales opportunity every week of the month.
February Calendar
- Feb 2: Groundhog Day
- Feb 4: The Grammys
- Feb 10: Lunar New Year
- Feb 11: Super Bowl LVIII
- Feb 13: Mardi Gras / Galentine’s Day
- Feb 14: Valentine’s Day
- Feb 15: Singles Awareness Day
- Feb 19: President’s Day
- Black History Month
Kicking off February is Groundhog Day on 2/2, where we find out just how much longer winter is going to be here. Phil and his shadow are here to tell us whether we’ll be slogging through snow or out getting our tan on soon.
This is a chance to send fun texts or emails to your subscribers about will-he-or-won’t he—then once Phil has made his choice—run a sale or discount based on his result! #Funinthesun if he doesn’t see his shadow & #6moreweeks if he does.
This year, Lunar New Year falls on February 10th—and 2024 is the year of the dragon! Lunar New Year celebrations vary widely by location and tradition but are commonly done via family gatherings and traditional gifting giving. Some brands create limited-time product lines or bundle products into collections. These are worthwhile strategies if this is something your audience celebrates!
The Super Bowl is a day for football, snacks, and ads (depending on who you ask), and while it’s not necessarily a “holiday” in the strictest sense…it’s still a great opportunity for retailers.
Consumer spending for the Super Bowl, while nowhere near that of a more “gift-centric” holiday, is not something to be ignored. In 2023, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said consumers spent a total of $16.5 billion, coming out to a little over $85 for the average American.
If you sell party supplies, decorations, or food, this is a great chance for you to run a sale early in Q1 of 2024!
Haven’t planned a promotion for the Super Bowl? Don’t worry; for more last-minute holidays like these—Justuno offers pre-built templates to make it easy to get a themed promotion up and running in under two minutes. Get started here now!
Are you a sporting goods retailer? Even better! Run promotions on the two teams that are playing, create product collections for each, and make sure to run social media and email campaigns to tie it all together. Want to take it a step further? Create two promotions for both teams and run a sale immediately after the big game for the winning team’s merchandise.
Pro Tip: Check out this strategy in action in the Push Notifications Academy Course for an even more effective setup.
Don’t sell anything even remotely related to a party or sports but are located in the team’s hometowns? You’re in luck. Geo-targeting helps retailers take advantage of localized promotions for a winning sale.
When you think of February, you probably think of Valentine’s first, but the day before is for the girls! February 13th is Galentine’s Day which originated on the popular sitcom Parks & Recreation as a gal-pal alternative to V-day. It’s perfect for brands to use when appealing to those wanting to celebrate their friendships as much as a relationship.
One of the most fun holidays to celebrate, not just in February but the whole year, is Mardi Gras. It’s an explosion of purple, green, and gold festivities with a light dusting of beignet sugar on top. If you sell party supplies like beads or hats, festival attire, or are a New Orleans-based retailer (or any Southern coastal area!)–this is your time to shine.
Even if you don’t, who doesn’t love a little Mardi Gras magic in their lives? Pick the messaging that works for your brand and target audience, then tie it all together with the Justuno pre-built on your website.
Next up is the big one— Valentine’s Day (whether you like the day or loathe it) it is a heavily gift-centric holiday and one of the first main sales/shopping dates of the year. Make sure you’re ready with a marketing strategy to capitalize on however, your customers like to celebrate.
In 2023, consumers reached a near record for spending on the holiday of love with $25.9 billion and will likely exceed that this year. Since this is a holiday for getting your loved one something they’ll enjoy, there isn’t necessarily one size fits all for retailers here. The industries where spending is most concentrated are, of course
- Florists
- Jewelry
- Experiences (Dining, Travel, Concerts, etc.)
- Candy
- Cards
But Valentine’s Day purchases are not concentrated only in the industries above—there’s been a distinct shift in the market, making this day an ample opportunity for retailers across the board. The BarkBox example above perfectly highlights this!
Here are a few Valentine’s Day marketing ideas that work across industries:
- Gift Guides & Product Collections: Help out shoppers who aren’t sure of what to get their significant other with gift guides that round up the most popular products for different audiences. A similar tactic is to create product collections around certain themes for inspiration when these indecisive shoppers are browsing. Have them on your website, sent via email campaigns, & leverage influencers to reach a wider market with different guides for different audiences.
- Themed Promotions: These pre-built templates are a great way to play into the theme of love and catch the attention of shoppers with V-day on the brain.
- Packaging Options: This could go either way: offer gift-wrapping for orders to ease the burden of preparing for the big day or offer a discreet packaging option so that when their order comes, the surprise isn’t spoiled.
- Last-Minute Procrastinators: There are always shoppers who put off finding gifts until the last minute. Appeal to these consumers with free expedited shipping or buy online/pick up in-store options if you have a storefront. Pair a gift guide & expedited shipping for a one-two combo promo.
The day after Valentine’s Day is Singles Awareness Day and, while this may not be a widely celebrated holiday, it’s an unofficial one well-known by anyone who’s been in a candy aisle on February 15th surrounded by half-off pink and red bags of candy.
For those who don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, this would be a perfect opportunity to buy something for yourself, AKA treat yo’ self. Use email marketing and social media to drive traffic and capture consumer attention. Depending on your brand voice and what you sell, this can be a great way to engage with consumers and show a little personality.
Another huge sales holiday in Q1 is President’s Day, which means it’s a great opportunity to boost early sales numbers to start the year off strong. We like to encourage retailers to use this as a time to clear out excess inventory to better position themselves and do a bit of spring cleaning.
Deep discounts on holiday goods, discontinued products, or winter-specific items are a great way to clear out space. With spring around the corner, these are goods that will stop appealing to consumers and, if you don’t sell them now, will be sitting around for months.
If that’s not something that works for your brand, try looking to the future. For those who primarily sell warm-weather goods like swimsuits or flip-flops, try running a campaign giving shoppers a sneak peek at what’s to come or early access to the season’s styles.
Drive traffic with coordinated email and social media campaigns to spell out success on this Federal holiday.
With three holidays and five major events to celebrate in only 29 days, you’re sure to find something that works for your brand and target audience. Even if none of these holidays directly correspond to your industry like a jewelry store and Valentine’s Day do, that doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the February fun.
If you’re looking for more “unconventional” holidays to try out this year, use the National Day of Calendar to find really specific (and sometimes weird) days to celebrate. They have a bunch for every industry and offer a chance for some more ~ personality ~ based campaigns this year. We personally like National Dog Biscuit Day on 2/23 or National Drink Wine Day on 2/18…
Make sure to check out our handy 2024 marketing calendar to stay on top of other holidays and seasonal trends throughout the year, keeping your onsite marketing in tip-top shape!
