The New E-Commerce Calendar

The New E-Commerce Calendar offers brands the chance to stand out by deepening emotional connections with shoppers, reinforcing brand values, and creating memorable experiences that resonate beyond individual transactions.

This report is based on two rounds of expert interviews and a quantitative survey to understand what is shaping the calendar, and how brands can authentically join in. We surveyed more than 9,000 people aged 18 and over to uncover how they shop across product categories, how they view promotional events, and what influences their purchases throughout the year.¹

1. Open the Directory of Moments

This Directory of Moments gives marketers a year-round map of opportunities. It includes:

• Advocacy Moments

• Sales Moments

• Celebratory Moments

• Together Moments

• Holiday Moments

• Entertainment Moments²
  
  

2. Chart Shopper Opportunities

There are many ways to explore the Directory—by season, spending, or market relevance. This section groups Moments by type and aligns them with shopper missions.

Moments by Type

• Advocacy (25%) – e.g., International Women’s Day, Earth Day³

• Sales (23%) – e.g., Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day³

• Celebratory (20%) – e.g., Diwali, Halloween, Valentine’s Day³

• Together (17%) – e.g., Labor Day, Family Day³

• Holiday (10%) – e.g., Christmas, Kwanzaa³

• Entertainment (5%) – e.g., the Oscars, Eurovision³

78% of the Moments in this calendar are not driven by retail or promotions⁴

Missions Behind the Moments

• Advocacy – 63% buy gifts during these Moments⁵

• Sales – 76% use events for items they are planning to buy; 63% buy gifts⁶

• Celebratory – 75% buy gifts; Valentine’s Day shopping is second only to Christmas⁷

• Together – Gift giving drives 74% of purchases⁸

• Holiday – 52% buy gifts to bring joy⁹

• Entertainment – 15% were inspired to buy during entertainment events and major music festivals¹⁰

Deconstructing Demographics

• Parents – 60% made Back-to-School and Mother’s Day purchases¹²

• Younger Adults (18–44) – 60% bought for Valentine’s Day, 44% for Halloween, 19% for International Women’s Day¹⁴

• Older Adults (55+) – 66% bought for Christmas, 57% for Easter, and 64% are joy-motivated¹³

• Urban vs Rural – 39% of urban shoppers buy for cultural/cause events, 59% of rural for Easter, and 76% of rural for Thanksgiving¹⁵
  
  

3. Dial In to Brand Values

Aligning with the right Moments means choosing those that reflect your brand’s purpose—not just popularity.

Root in Regionality
Not all Moments are equally relevant globally. Singles’ Day is big in Asia, Cyber Monday is strong in North America, and International Women’s Day is more prominent in Italy. Brands must localize thoughtfully.¹⁶

Storyline Brand Relevance
Sometimes relevance comes from values, not category. Hartz leveraged Valentine’s Day for a pet-love campaign, showing how a Moment can deepen brand narrative.¹¹

Celebrate Commitments
Advocacy Moments require substance. Sephora’s sustained support of Black-owned businesses exemplifies meaningful engagement.¹⁷

Borrow Brand Equity
Partnerships can lend cultural access. Apron brand Hedley & Bennett’s Lunar New Year collaboration with condiment company Fly By Jing illustrates the power of shared values and creative synergy.³

Schedule Quiet Time
Opting out can be powerful. Brands like womenswear brand Xandres skip Black Friday to highlight their values, strengthening identity without discounting.⁴

4. Mark Your Moments

Once you’ve aligned Moments with your brand and audience, focus on how you activate. These four pillars guide effective execution:

Consistency
Build one strong narrative across all activations. Use testing and e-commerce integrations to keep messaging focused.

• Stat: 41% of shoppers value brands that are reliable²

Relevance
Use behavior-based timing and email/SMS sequencing to increase interest.

• Stat: 25% say pre-event promotions influenced them to buy during non-discounted events³

Reward
Focus on retention by giving VIP customers early access, perks, or predictive offers.

• Stat: 33% say loyalty rewards prompted a purchase²

Intention
Tailor tactics to match emotion and mission of each Moment.

• Stat: 52% of Sales Moment purchases were personal necessities; only 20% of Celebratory Moments were¹⁹

What’s Next?

From identifying relevant Moments to showing up authentically, navigating The New E-Commerce Calendar takes intention. Done well, it forges trust and sparks magic. Use the Directory of Moments alongside our checklist to find your place—and your edge—in the year ahead.

¹ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Questions: S7 & S8, Calculation based on number of potential moments respondents could make a purchase in by general categorizations of moments., n=118
² Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S4.5, Base: All Global Shoppers, n=9356.
³ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S4.7, Base: All Global Shoppers, n=9356.
⁴ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S7, Base: All who purchased during trade shows, brand and retail, or seasonal events in the last 2 years, n=8553. S8, Base: All who purchased during non-brand Moments (e.g. seasonal, entertainment events, national/public holidays), n=8639.
⁵ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Questions used to calculate types of purchases during Advocacy Moments: S4.3 & S3.3, Base: All Global Shoppers who would consider purchasing during a particular retail Moment, n=1289.
⁶ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S4.7, Base: All Global Shoppers, n=9356.
⁷ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Questions used to calculate types of purchases during Celebratory Moments: S4.3 & S3.3, Base: All Global Shoppers who would consider purchasing during a particular retail Moment, n=7766.
⁸ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Questions used to calculate types of purchases during Together Moments: S4.3 & S3.3, Base: All Global Shoppers who would consider purchasing during a particular retail Moment, n=7732.
⁹ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S3.4. Base: All those who say they buy gifts for others during calendar events in S3.3. n=7144.
¹⁰ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S2.11, Base: All Global Shoppers who would consider purchasing from particular shopping categories in the future: books, toys and games n=1042, food and beverage n=1043.
¹¹ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Case study: Hartz Valentine’s campaign.
¹² Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S4.5, Base: All Global Respondents, n=9356, Parents n=3746, Nonparents n=3172.
¹³ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S4.5. Base: All respondents. n=9356. Age 55+, n=2946.
¹⁴ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S4.7. Base: All respondents. Age 18-34, n=2628.
¹⁵ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S8. Base: All who selected a non-brand/promotional event in S6. Urban, n=4083. Rural, n=1416.
¹⁶ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Question: S7. Base: Those who selected trade shows, brand and retail events or seasonal events at S6. n=8553.
¹⁷ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Questions used to calculate the percentage of shoppers who purchased during Advocacy Moments: S7 & S8, Base: All Global Shoppers, n=9356.
¹⁸ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Calculated across all shopping categories surveyed. Question: S2.1. Base: All respondents, n=9350.
¹⁹ Mailchimp x Canvas8 - The New E-Commerce Survey. Questions used to calculate types of purchases during Sales Moments and Celebratory Moments: S4.3 & S3.3, Base: All Global Shoppers who would consider purchasing during a particular retail Moment. Sales Moments n=17881, Celebratory Moments n=7766.