Key Dates for Amazon FBA Sellers
As 2023 winds down, ecommerce businesses should start planning ahead for key selling dates, holidays, and ecommerce events happening in 2024. It is important to keep your finger on the pulse of what is happening in the ecommerce industry and major events that will influence consumers’ buying habits. Fortunately, we have a solution for all of the busy brand owners and Amazon sellers out there: Jungle Scout’s 2024 Amazon calendar!
This calendar will allow you to plan months in advance for important dates and help you decide when you should prepare for certain events, seasons, Amazon deadlines, and even tax deadlines.
Staying organized and remaining ahead of the game will give you an edge over your competitors and help you grow your Amazon sales. Here’s what 2024 looks like:
January 2024: The month of New Year’s resolutions
Amazon businesses that offer products in the health and fitness categories should prepare to offer discounts or coupons on their products for the influx of resolution shoppers who are looking to get in shape and increase their health in 2024.
February 2024: The month of love
If you sell giftable items, make sure your listings are fully optimized, and you have a list of Valentine’s Day-related keywords ready for your advertising campaigns.
In addition to February hosting the day of love, Super Bowl LVIII is three days before. Ecommerce businesses with sports memorabilia and items perfect for Super Bowl parties should also prepare their listing and advertising campaigns to cut through the noise.
- February 1: Start of Black History Month
- February 1: Deadline to send tax form W-2 to employees and IRS
- February 2: Groundhog Day
- February 11: Super Bowl Sunday
- February 14: Valentine’s Day
- February 19: Presidents’ Day
- February 19: Family Day (Canada)
Looking ahead: Start preparing for Prime Day
March 2024: Spring break season
Break out the bikinis and floaties because it is time for Spring Break! Amazon brands that sell travel products, pool party decorations, or any products that can help cure a hangover should prepare for an increase in sales this month.
- March 1: Deadline to file 1099s via mail with the IRS (form 1096)
- March 4-6: The Prosper Show
- March 8: International Women’s Day
- March 10: Daylight Saving Time
- March 15: Deadline to file S-Corps (form 1120-S) and for partnerships (form 1065)
- March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
- March 19: First day of spring
- March 17-20: Shop Talk
- March 29: Good Friday
- March 24-30: Holy Week
- March 31: Easter Sunday
April 2024: Easter Season
Calling all Amazon brands who sell products that fit perfectly in an Easter basket — this is the month for you to shine. Make sure your listings are optimized and consider advertising on Easter-related keywords. Check out Keyword Scout to find the best Easter keywords!
- April 1: April Fools’ Day
- April 2-8: Holy Week
- April 7: Good Friday
- April 9: Easter Sunday
- April 11: National Pet Day
- April 15: Deadline to file taxes for individuals, C corporations, sole proprietors, single-member LLCs or LLCs taxed as a corporation
- April 22: Earth Day
Looking ahead: This is a good time to start preparing your inventory and campaigns for the back-to-school season in August.
May 2024: A month of celebrations
The month of May holds many occasions that ecommerce businesses in select categories should prepare for. Kicking off the month’s festivities is Cinco De Mayo. If you offer party supplies or margarita glasses, you may see a slight boost in sales.
Coming in next is Mother’s Day, to celebrate beloved mothers and maternal figures across the country. Mother’s Day is a massive gifting holiday. If you have an ecommerce business that sells gift items, consider adding Mother’s Day keywords to your advertising campaigns for a boost.
Closing out the month with a three-day weekend is Memorial Day. Popular products that sell around Memorial day include folding chairs, koozies, American flags, American flag apparel, and just about any kind of American flag-related gifts and merchandise.
June 2024: Pride month
June is a festive month that offers multiple celebrations that influence consumers’ purchasing behavior. Pride Month begins on June 1st. Pride attire, the rainbow flag, and any products celebrating gender identity will be popular.
Next up: Flag Day! Although it is not an official federal holiday, it is a day for which many towns hold parades and events to celebrate the American flag. All government buildings will fly the colors.
We just celebrated Mother’s Day in May, and now it is time for Father’s Day. Amazon businesses that offer popular Father’s Day products should prepare their inventory and expand their advertising campaigns to include gift-related keywords.
July 2024: The month of patriotism
The holiday that all Amazon brand owners who sell American flags have been waiting for — Independence Day. Similar to Memorial Day, American flag items are very popular in July. In fact, according to our market analysis software, Cobalt, over 400,000 American flags were sold on Amazon during three weeks before July 4th last year.
July is also a month commonly known for warm weather, pool parties, and vacations. Amazon businesses that sell travel-related items and popular summer must-haves should prepare for growth this month.
- July 1: Canada Day
- July 4: Independence Day
Looking ahead: Start preparing your inventory for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Talk to your suppliers now to make sure you’ll have the stock you need by Amazon’s Black Friday inventory deadline, and consider looking into 3PL options so you have a backup plan in the event of new storage restrictions.
August 2024: Back-to-school
The return to school is a long-awaited event for parents, but the weeks leading up to it mean the dreaded but necessary back-to-school shopping. If you own or manage a brand that sells school supplies, backpacks, laptops, or any other school essentials, be sure to optimize your listings and ad campaigns with back-to-school keywords. You can also consider offering a deal to set your product apart and get more sales from deal-hunting grownups and older students.
- August 12-15: eTail East
- August 19-31: Back-to-school for most public schools
Read more | Back-to-School Shopping 2023 Trends
September 2024: Football season begins
Sports fans and Amazon brands that sell NFL jerseys, football party decorations, and sports memorabilia, get ready! The NFL season kicks off on September 9th.
- September 2: Labor Day
- September 8: NFL season begins
- September 22: First day of Fall
Looking ahead: September is a great time to start preparing your business for the holiday rush! You can prepare by properly optimizing your listings, creating holiday deals, and estimating the inventory you’ll require for the holiday season.
October 2024: Fall festivities
The month of pumpkin carving, costumes, furry boots, and pumpkin spice lattes is here! If your brand offers Halloween costumes, this is the month you have been waiting for. Ensure your inventory is in and your listings are in good health. This month will be significant for you.
- October 14: Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day
- October 14: Canadian Thanksgiving
- October 31: Halloween
- October 31: Last day to order inventory before Lunar New Year
November 2024: The month of retail sales
How is it already the holiday season again, right? No worries though, because you should already be prepared for Black Friday and Cyber Monday at this point. Your inventory should be in, and your discount strategy should be finalized. Take a breath, and watch the sales roll in.
- November 1: Last day to get inventory to Amazon warehouse for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and the holiday season
- November 1: Start of National Native American Heritage Month
- November 3: Daylight Saving Time
- November 8: Election Day
- November 11: Veterans Day and Singles’ Day
- November 11: Remembrance Day (Canada)
- November 28: Thanksgiving
- November 29: Black Friday
- November 30: Small Business Saturday
December 2024: Gift-giving season
The biggest gift-giving month is here! The holiday season is an exciting time for most ecommerce sellers. Ensure your inventory is replenished, you have coupons and discounts in place, and your advertising strategy includes popular holiday keywords.
- December 2: Cyber Monday
- December 21: First day of winter
- December 24: Christmas Eve
- December 25: Christmas
- December 25-Jan. 2: Hanukkah
- December 26-Jan 1: Kwanzaa
- December 26: Boxing Day (Canada)
- December 31: New Year’s Eve
Quarterly reminders for 2024:
Monthly reminders for 2024:
- Check Inventory Manager
- Look at inventory age and remove inventory accordingly
- Send new inventory if you have backup stock
- Place orders for additional inventory accounting for any upcoming holidays/obstacles
- Review PPC charges for the last 30 days
- Use Sales Analytics to check profitability levels
- Run Amazon reports to view which keywords are converting
- Make adjustments to your Amazon PPC strategy and consider automating your ad campaigns.
- Consider adjusting your advertising budgets
- Review your Profit & Loss (P&L) statements
- Gather receipts, expense reports, etc. for your accountant
- Audit your Amazon transaction reports
- Check on your long-term storage fees
Holiday selling requirements
The winter holiday season is the most popular selling period for ecommerce businesses. There are holiday selling requirements on Amazon that you need to be prepared for to assure you execute this important season properly.
- Optimize your Amazon listings with gift-related keywords and images that reflect your product’s giftability. We recommend doing this in September because holiday shopping begins as early as October.
- Make sure that your inventory arrives at U.S. fulfillment centers by these holiday selling dates:
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday: November 2
- Christmas: December 1
- Plan your shipments ahead of time and aim to have inventory in Amazon’s warehouses before the above deadlines. The holiday season is known for being the busiest time of the year for logistics companies, so it may take longer for your inventory to arrive at the fulfillment centers.
- If you plan to sell in the Toys & Games category, keep an eye on Amazon’s specific requirements for these products.
Make 2024 your best year yet!
Hopefully, you’re excited to start your Amazon business off strong in 2024. Mark all important dates on your calendar and prepare for shopping events months in advance (I’m talking to you procrastinators out there).
For more resources to help you plan your ecommerce strategy in 2024 and help you start your new year, visit our Free Resources Page and blog. Good luck!
Do you have any important Amazon seller dates to add to our calendar? Please let us know in the comments below!