Giving your brand’s presence a boost around the busiest shopping days of the year can help to spur sales and revenues, as you get more eyes on your business and products.

Here’s a look at the top shopping holidays in the United States so you can plan your marketing strategy accordingly. 

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What are the busiest shopping days of the year?

According to the National Retail Foundation, the period just before students return to college tops the list of the busiest shopping days of the year. In 2023, an average of $1,366.95 was spent per person in preparation for the new college year. It is also the only event on this list of the top shopping holidays that saw the average spend per person exceed $1,000.

The average back-to-college expenditure in 2023 marks a 14% increase from the previous year and is notably higher than the second busiest shopping event of the year: back to school. The same report shows that the average spend per person on back-to-school supplies in 2023 was $890.07—$476.88 less than the average back-to-college expenditure.

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If the back-to-college and back-to-school seasons are key shopping holidays for your target market, you might want to consider investing more in marketing items that are in the electronics and clothing categories. Both are among the biggest product categories for consumers shopping during these two shopping seasons, in terms of overall expenditure. 

The winter holiday season ranks third on the list of the busiest shopping days of the year. In 2023, experts estimated that the average person would spend $875 on end-of-year gifts and celebrations.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day follow, with average expenditures per person at $274.02 and $196.23, respectively. It’s interesting to note that consumers spent an average of $77.79 more per person for Mother’s Day than for Father’s Day. The sixth busiest shopping period of the year is for Valentine’s Day, which generated expenditures of $192.80 per person.

The period leading up to Easter is next on the list of the busiest shopping days of the year, at $192.01 per person. Here are the other top shopping holidays and their average expenditures per person in 2023.

  1. Graduation: $116.19
  2. Halloween: $108.24
  3. Independence Day: $93.34

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