Key Dates for Amazon FBA Sellers: Your 2023 Calendar

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As 2022 winds down, ecommerce businesses should start planning ahead for key selling dates, holidays, and ecommerce events happening in 2023. 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 2023 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 2023 looks like:

January 2023: 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 2023.

January 1: New Year’s Day
January 10-12: The Outdoor Retailer Snow Show
January 15-17: NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show & Expo
January 16: Martin Luther King (MLK) Day

February 2023: 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, the day before is Super Bowl LVI (I’d like to have a chat with the Super Bowl planning committee on that one). Ecommerce businesses that have 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 12: Super Bowl Sunday
February 14: Valentine’s Day
February 20: Presidents’ Day
February 20: Family Day (Canada)

Looking ahead: Start preparing for Prime Day

March 2023 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 8: International Women’s Day
March 12: Daylight Saving Time
March 13-15: The Prosper Show
March 15: Deadline to file S-Corps (form 1120-S) and for partnerships (form 1065)
March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
March 20: First day of spring
March 26-29: Shop Talk

April 2023: 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 12-13: Ecommerce Operations Summit
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 2023: 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.

May 1-4: Labor Day in China
May 3-4: White Label Expo
May 14: Mother’s Day
May 4-6: Sellers Summit
May 31: Memorial Day

June 2023: 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.

June 1: Pride Month begins
June 13-15: Retail Innovation
June 14: Flag Day
June 18: Father’s Day
June 19: Juneteenth
June 21: First day of summer
June 20-21: Commercenext

July 2023: The month of patriotism

The holiday that all Amazon brand owners who sell American flags have been waiting for, and one of the most beloved American holidays, 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 three weeks before July 4th, 2022.

July is also a month commonly known for warm weather, pool parties, and vacations! Between June 1-July 31, 2021, the luggage category on Amazon brought in over $25M in revenue, passport covers raked in over $2M in revenue, and travel-sized toiletries came in with just under $4M in revenue. 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 2023: 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 14-16: eTail East
August 16: Back-to-school for most public schools

September 2023: 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 4: Labor Day
September 9: NFL season begins
September 23: 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 2023: 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 9: Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day
October 9: Canadian Thanksgiving
October 31: Halloween
October 31: Last day to order inventory before Lunar New Year

November 2023: 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 5: Daylight Saving Time
November 8: Election Day
November 11: Veterans Day and Singles’ Day
November 11: Remembrance Day (Canada)
November 23: Thanksgiving
November 24: Black Friday
November 25: Small Business Saturday
November 27: Cyber Monday

December 2023: 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 17: Super Saturday
December 7-15: Hanukkah
December 21: First day of winter
December 24: Christmas Eve
December 25: Christmas
December 26-Jan 1: Kwanzaa
December 26: Boxing Day (Canada)
December 31: New Year’s Eve

Quarterly reminders for 2023:

Turn in tax statements (if your state runs on a quarterly schedule)
Perform a quarterly performance review on your brand
Estimate inventory turn rates

Monthly reminders for 2023:

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 US 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 2023 your best year yet!

Hopefully, you’re excited to start your Amazon business off strong in 2023. 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 2023 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!