Hot, hotter, August! The name for the 8th month of the year stems from the Roman emperor Augustus, who also happened to take up his consulship around this time of year. As the last official month of summer, August is the perfect opportunity to sell out any leftover festival, BBQ or camping-related products and go big on back-to-school deals. Let’s take a look at which holidays and events retailers should keep an eye on in August.

Holidays & observances

International Beer Day

On the first Friday of August, you may find “Cheers for Beer Day” or “Happy International Beer Day” merchandise in your local bar, supermarket or liquor store. International Beer Day came about in 2007 in Santa Cruz, California, to celebrate the craft of brewing.

Today, Beer Day toasts to bartenders and other beer technicians as well. This is a wonderful opportunity for beer manufacturers to get creative – not only in countries famous for their beer, such as Germany or the Czech Republic, but also microbreweries all over the world. Bottoms up!

August 25th: National Secondhand Wardrobe Day (USA)

As sustainability becomes a more and more pressing issue in our modern world, thrifting is a popular go-to option for shoppers.

The benefits of buying pre-loved clothes and accessories include:

  • Finding a unique gem that’s no longer available anywhere else.
  • Supporting a mom-and-pop shop or local charity with your purchase.
  • Shopping for non-trend items that may last longer and have a lower “cost per wear” than their fast fashion counterparts.

Remember: Sustainability doesn’t go out of style! Thrift stores across the US, online and off, can make use of this day in their email marketing and social media promotions.

Goodbye, summer!

In the Northern Hemisphere, August tends to be the hottest month of the year. So don’t forget to wear sunscreen!

Other popular consumer products for online retailers to promote in August are very similar to the ones we mention in our June and July e-commerce blogs:

  • BBQ food and equipment
  • travel gadgets
  • camping and van gear (#VanLife)
  • gardening tools and accessories
  • summer clothes, including festival outfits

You may want to consider selling these types of summer goods in bundles to make room for next season’s stock. A BBQ bundle, for example, could be made up of an outdoor grill, a pair of tongs, oven gloves and coal.

Back to school

September is back-to-school time! And that means August is when parents and school or college kids are looking for last-minute deals on school supplies. According to a 2022 National Retail Federation survey, the most popular back-to-school products were electronics, clothing, shoes and general school supplies.

Back-to-school season is the 2nd biggest retail period, right after winter and related end-of-year sales. Plus, most back-to-school items are still valued highly – essential even – despite the ongoing 2023 inflation. Parents are happy to spend an extra buck to make sure their children go back to school with high-quality items, and that includes buying new.

Office supply stores and the like are advised to take advantage of this big sales opportunity. One idea to do is to help children and their parents with their long shopping lists by offering bundles or making content marketing part of their sales strategy. This might include guides in the form of blogs and social media posts (“Your ultimate back-to-school packing list”, etc.).

Coclusion

August celebrates International Beer Day on the first Friday of the month and National Secondhand Wardrobe Day (US) on the 25th. Go-to products this time of year include the remaining stock of summer clothes, camping gear, travel gadgets, BBQ sets and gardening tools. Back-to-school shopping deals are a major sales opportunity for retailers, especially considering that parents deem school supplies essential for their kids and their success at school or college. Content marketing and product bundles are great ways of getting these types of products out there in time for September’s back-to-school period.



Sources

 

autor_eurotext_100Author: Eurotext Editorial Team

We explain how internationalization works, provide tips for your translation projects and outline some of the technology and processes used. We also report on current e-commerce developments and cover a range of language-related topics.