It’s always a season somewhere. If you think Amazon holiday marketing begins on Amazon Prime Day and ends on New Year’s Day, then think again. Marketing is an all-year-round effort and there are plenty of ways to make your seasonal marketing campaigns livelier to generate more sales for your Amazon business.
Think of these holidays as rainy days that allow you to make up for dry periods or slumps. In this blog, we’ve compiled the 2026 dates and a few promotion ideas for you to execute, grab your customers’ attention, and generate more sales and profits!
Amazon Seller Holiday Calendar – Holiday Dates Sellers Should Know
Here is a list of the holiday dates, big and small, that occur throughout 2026 and can benefit FBA sellers:
January:
- January 1: New Year’s Day
- January 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February:
- February 1: Black History Month begins
- February 2: Groundhog Day
- February 8: Super Bowl LX
- February 14: Valentine’s Day
- February 16: Presidents’ Day
- February 16: Family Day – Canada (most provinces)
- February 17: Chinese New Year (Spring Festival). China’s public holiday runs February 15–23
March:
- March 8: International Women’s Day
- March 10–12: The Prosper Show – Las Vegas
- March 16: Last date to file corporate tax returns (S-corps)
- March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
- March 20: First day of spring
April:
- April 1: April Fools’ Day
- April 3: Good Friday
- April 4–6: Qingming Festival – China
- April 5: Easter Sunday
- April 11: National Pet Day
- April 15: Last date to file corporate tax returns (C-corps)
- April 15: Amazon’s meltable FBA restriction begins
- April 22: Earth Day
May:
- May 1–5: Labour Day holiday – China
- May 10: Mother’s Day
- May 25: Memorial Day
June:
- June 14: Flag Day
- June 19: Juneteenth
- June 19: Dragon Boat Festival – China (holiday runs June 19–21)
- June 21: Father’s Day
- June 21: First day of summer
- June 23–26: Amazon Prime Day
July:
- July 1: Canada Day
- July 4: Independence Day – United States (the 250th anniversary)
August:
- August 1: Back-to-School season begins
September:
- September 7: Labor Day
- September 22: First day of fall
- September 25: Mid-Autumn Festival – China (holiday runs September 25–27)
October:
- October 1–7: National Day Golden Week – China
- October 6–7: Amazon Prime Big Deal Days
- October 12: Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- October 12: Thanksgiving – Canada
- October 15: Holiday peak fulfillment fees begin (they run to January 14, 2027)
- October 16: Amazon accepts meltable FBA inventory again
- October 21: FBA inbound deadline for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (minimal shipment splits)
- October 28: FBA inbound deadline for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Amazon-optimized splits)
- October 31: Halloween. Also a good last window to place factory orders ahead of Chinese New Year on February 6, 2027
November:
- November 1: National Native American Heritage Month begins
- November 11: Veterans Day
- November 11: Remembrance Day – Canada
- November 26: Thanksgiving Day – United States
- November 27: Black Friday
- November 28: Small Business Saturday
- November 30: Cyber Monday
December:
- December 4: Hanukkah begins at sundown (ends December 12)
- December 19: Super Saturday (Panic Saturday)
- December 21: First day of winter
- December 24: Christmas Eve
- December 25: Christmas
- December 26: Boxing Day – Canada
- December 26 – January 1: Kwanzaa
- December 31: New Year’s Eve
We’ll be taking a look at some of the more impactful holidays that affect FBA businesses. But before that, why are so many Chinese holidays mentioned in our calendar and how are they linked to FBA businesses?
Impact of Chinese Holidays on an Amazon FBA Business
China is where most Amazon businesses source their products from. Sellers get in touch with manufacturers and suppliers throughout the country through Alibaba.com, Aliexpress, 1688.com, or sometimes hire natives to scour local markets. As such, holidays that result in a nationwide closure of marketplaces negatively impact the supply chain.
By anticipating events like the Chinese New Year (CNY), sellers can order adequate amounts of inventory beforehand to prevent Out-Of-Stock (OOS) situations that not only affect Amazon sales but also rankings. It may sound simple, but here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Increased production times: Just before the festivities kick off in China, sellers place bigger orders to prevent their inventories from running dry. Higher demand places additional strain on manufacturers resulting in delays and increased production times.
- Greater need for quality control: Building on the first point, suppliers are more concerned with pumping out greater inventory which inevitably results in quality control taking a back seat. Routine inspection and open communication with the supplier is vital to ensure your products don’t come out defective or give customers a reason to complain.
- Increased expenditure: It’s a frantic time just before the holiday season as sellers rush to place orders and have the inventory shipped to a fulfillment center or storage hub. With increased demand comes increased shipping costs.
- Delayed shipping times: A natural consequence of the holiday season. Just make sure to plan before time to avoid missing out on the holiday sales spike.
Chinese New Year 2026 fell on February 17, and China’s public holiday ran February 15–23. The next one lands on February 6, 2027. China’s State Council normally publishes the official holiday schedule late in the year, so check it and your supplier’s own notice for the exact closure days. Many factories slow down well before the holiday and take weeks to reach full output afterward.
Keeping track of all the major holidays listed above will prevent organic orders from being disrupted and might even give you an edge over competitors that fail to plan, go out of stock, and eventually plunge down the rankings.
Sellers that successfully sail through the holiday season are ones that have spent time and effort building healthy relationships with suppliers. Start those conversations early, confirm production slots in writing, and build a buffer into every lead time.
Capitalize on Holidays All Year Round
With sourcing concerns out of the way, let’s go over a few popular FBA holidays!
Note: We will mention a few seasonal products that do well during specific holidays. However, we still believe sellers should stay away from such products due to inconsistent sales, inventory management troubles, and a few other issues. It’s highly recommended to opt for Evergreen products.
Super Bowl – February 8th
The unofficial national sports holiday of the US where friends and family get together to enjoy the massively popular Super Bowl. In 2026 it is Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8. Think sports-related shirts, hoodies, and hats as good items to market and sell on Amazon.
Valentine’s Day – February 14th
This is the day that your other half spends his/her paycheck on gifts without any hesitation. Depending on the type of products you sell, you can arrange gift ideas for buyers. For instance, you can create a $100 gift set offering bundled products for buyers.
St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th
St. Patrick’s Day is undoubtedly the biggest holiday of the month. Although it’s considered a national holiday only in Ireland, many cities in the US witness parades with large crowds taking to the streets including Boston, Washington, Chicago, Savannah, and Kansas City.
The celebration-filled day arrives in early spring, which means that items such as party supplies, t-shirts, and anything fun and green are bound to sell. Make sure your inventory has reached Amazon’s fulfillment center before the beginning of March to capitalize on the buying frenzy!
Easter – April 5th
Easter is one of the main annual events that many people celebrate especially in the Western part of the world. You can offer discounts for your products on Amazon storefront and website. If you’re the daring type, there’s an opportunity to bundle different products together like chocolates, candies, and Easter eggs!
Mind the meltable rule if you sell chocolate. Amazon’s FBA restriction on meltable products starts on April 15 and ends on October 15, so Easter candy needs to be in and sold well before then.
Mother’s Day – May 10th
Mother’s Day is the perfect day to promote gift ideas for moms, grandmothers and mother figures. Think of products like jewelry, photo frames, and memorabilia. Browse Amazon’s virtual aisles to gather a list of items that have the potential to sell well on this day.
Father’s Day – June 21st
Father’s day is the ideal time to start looking towards DIY items which you think dads might be interested in. Just slap a reasonable discount and watch the orders flow in!
Amazon Prime Day – June 23-26th
Prime Day is one of Amazon’s biggest global shopping events exclusively for Prime members. In 2026, Amazon moved it from its usual July slot to June 23–26, a four-day event. Amazon’s Jamil Ghani told Reuters the timing reflected the FIFA World Cup and the 250th anniversary of US independence. Deal submissions and inbound deadlines for Prime Day fall weeks before the event, so build your plan backwards from the event dates. Prime Day is also the perfect time for sellers to offer discounts to Prime members.
Independence Day – July 4th
The start of July is marked with good fortune as any and everything red, white, or blue gets sold out fast. 2026 is the 250th anniversary of US independence, so expect even more patriotic demand. Independence Day discounts or pushing product variations resembling the stripes is a smart way of cashing in on patriotic buyers.
Back To School Season Begins – August 1st
As the summer season is about to end, “Back to School” sales can be seen everywhere in malls. If you think that this has nothing to do with your business, then you are wrong. There are plenty of ways to sell products like lunch boxes, notebooks, and backpacks to cautious parents wanting to stay and shop indoors.
Don’t ignore the Back To School season—it’s the perfect example of how simple products advertised at the right time can bring in massive sales!
Prime Big Deal Days – October 6-7th
Amazon’s fall Prime-only sale runs for 48 hours on October 6–7, 2026. It is the first big test of Q4 demand and a preview of what shoppers will do on Black Friday. Your stock needs to reach Amazon’s fulfillment centers weeks beforehand, so treat it as a September deadline.
Halloween – October 31st
October—and Halloween in particular—marks the beginning of Q4. It’s the harvesting season for sellers that have ordered inventory beforehand and are all set to engage in aggressive marketing campaigns.
Amazon accepts meltable FBA inventory again from October 16, creating a window of opportunity for sellers offering products such as candies and chocolates.
Note: FBA storage fees for October, November, and December months increase significantly, and Amazon’s holiday peak fulfillment fees apply from October 15 to January 14, 2027. Check out our sell on Amazon fees blog for more details.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday – November 27th - November 30th
Black Friday & Cyber Monday go hand in hand. They’re celebrated on the Friday and Monday directly after Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26 in 2026. However, they are hosted by most retail and e-commerce companies around the world, even those countries that do not celebrate Thanksgiving.
Amazon is no exception, with Black Friday and Cyber Sales being one of the biggest seasonal marketing opportunities on Amazon. Shoppers are expecting huge discounts for products so be sure to give them what they want.
The inventory deadline comes first. For Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, Amazon’s FBA arrival dates are October 21 for minimal shipment splits and October 28 for Amazon-optimized splits. Our Amazon Q4 preparation guide covers the deadlines, fees and readiness checks in detail.
Christmas – December 25th
Right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes Christmas—an opportunity to maintain and ride high sales following the previous two holidays. Amazon receives FBA shipments much slower than usual in Q4, and October 28 is the last inventory date Amazon has published for the season. Treat it as your deadline for Christmas stock too.
Product ideas for Christmas are a no-brainer: LED, neon, and string lights, socks, clothes, and party decorations.
The Takeaway
Sometimes there is less than a month between all of these holidays so you don’t have to run marketing promotions for all these events. However, some seasons, such as winter, can be extremely lucrative and well worth creating a packed promotions calendar.
If you can’t fit all these events on your marketing calendar, choose a few that your Amazon business can relate to and mix it up with discounted promotions. Be sure to plan in advance and market it to your audience on social media channels and emails.
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