Your End-of-Year & New Year Sales Roadmap + A Special CLS Black Friday Early Offer
October has arrived, and you know what that means… the countdown to the most chaotic (and profitable) time of the year has officially begun. If you’re a small business in retail, hospitality, or events, the next few months are basically your Olympics — and the podium is reserved for the ones who actually train beforehand.
The truth is, Aussies are shopping smarter and earlier. Over half of them have their Christmas lists sorted by October, and by the end of November, nearly 60% are basically done. Yep, while you’re still fiddling with Canva templates and arguing about hashtags, your customers are already ticking names off their lists. So, if you want to win the holiday hustle, now’s the time to lace up. Here’s how:
The Big Dates You Can’t Sleep On
Let’s talk about the main events from now through January, aka your golden ticket to more sales, more bookings, and more champagne corks popping.
- Halloween (31 October): Don’t sleep on spooky season. A simple themed menu, costume comp, or limited-edition product can give you a seasonal sales spike without reinventing the (pumpkin-shaped) wheel.
- Click Frenzy & Singles Day (early November): Think of these as your dress rehearsal before the big leagues. Great for testing offers, building your email list, and warming up your audience before the Black Friday madness hits.
- Black Friday – (28 November): One of the biggest shopping days of the year in Australia, and it just keeps growing. In 2024, Aussies spent a huge portion of the nearly $7 billion that was splashed across the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. Globally, Black Friday sales alone hit US$10.8 billion. If you’re in retail, it’s the perfect time to move stock, launch bundles or highlight bestsellers. Hospitality and events can also jump in with themed offers or special experiences to capture the shopping buzz.
- Cyber Monday – (1 December): This one belongs to e-commerce and online-first businesses. In 2024, Cyber Monday hit a record-breaking US$13.3 billion, officially outpacing Black Friday as the biggest single online shopping day ever. For small businesses, this is your cue to push online-exclusive deals, run flash sales, or even sell event tickets and gift cards digitally. With Aussies increasingly planning their spending earlier, extending your Black Friday deals into Cyber Monday gives you double the chance to be seen.
- December (aka chaos month): Once December hits, it’s game on. Shoppers are hunting for gifts, booking experiences, and snapping up vouchers left, right and centre. For retail, it’s all about last-minute gifting, festive bundles and stocking fillers. Hospitality and events can ride the wave with Christmas parties, holiday menus, and end-of-year celebrations that help people wrap up their year in style.
- Boxing Day (26 December): Still one of the busiest days of the year. Clear stock, run cheeky promos, or offer a hangover brunch to mop up the NYE aftermath.
- New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day: Big nights, big breakfasts, big opportunities. Hospitality venues can cash in on NYE packages, while retail leans into the “New Year, New You” energy.
- Australia Day (26 January): The perfect excuse for BBQs, summer activations, outdoor gear promos, or themed nights.
- Valentine’s Day (14 February): Yes, it feels forever away — but smart businesses are already locking in menus, suppliers, and campaigns. Think of it as the grand final for florists, restaurants, entertainment venues and gift shops
Why Bother Planning Now?
Because your customers already are. Australians are expected to spend close to $70 billion this Christmas, with $11.8 billion of that on gifts. And here’s the kicker: they’re not just impulse-buying anymore. They’re scrolling, comparing, and saving screenshots of their favourite deals weeks before they spend a cent.
If you’re leaving your marketing until the last minute, you’ll be shouting into an inbox already drowning in subject lines like “FINAL HOURS” and “DON’T MISS OUT!” Spoiler: they’ll miss yours.
Get in early and you:
- Beat the inbox flood.
- Lock in your slice of the billions before budgets are blown.
Look cool, calm and collected while your competitors are sweating bullets.
Turning Dates Into Dollars (Without Losing Your Mind)
Here’s how to make the season work for you, not against you:
- Pick your battles: You don’t need to jump on every single date. Choose the ones that make sense for your brand and your margins.
- Play the urgency card: Countdown timers, “last chance” shipping cut-offs, limited tickets — FOMO works.
- Think beyond discounts: Bundle it, wrap it, add free shipping, or throw in a cheeky bonus. Customers love feeling like they’re getting more bang for their buck.
- Get your content sorted now: Schedule those socials, line up your EDMs, get your creatives in order. Future you will thank past you!
- Make it an experience: Whether it’s a smooth checkout, a themed cocktail night, or a gorgeous unboxing moment, those little touches are what get people talking (and spending again).
Don’t Forget the “Next” Next Thing
Once the tinsel comes down, it’s not nap time. January is still buzzing, and February is only a heartbeat away. Australia Day and Valentine’s Day are both huge opportunities — and if you want to own them, you need to start now. Lock in suppliers, staff, menus and campaigns before everyone else wakes up from their Christmas food coma.
How CLS Can Help You Slay the Season
This is where we shine. At CLS, we help businesses turn crazy calendars into clever strategies. From curated social posts that actually perform, to polished EDMs, festive campaigns, and full event marketing, we make sure your offers stand out instead of blending into the noise.
This Black Friday, we’re opening early access to our festive packages to help your business shine, stand out, and soar to success. Whether it’s social and website prep, email campaigns, event marketing, or extra design support, we tailor everything to your needs—so you can step into the new year stress-free, confident, and ready to win.
Packages Include:
- Social & Website Prep: Audit, tidy-up, festive graphics, and offer promotion.
- Full Social & Website Makeover: Content drafted, scheduled & managed, festive campaigns, Black Friday, Cyber Monday & New Year promos.
- Festive Email Campaigns: Monthly e-flyers for Oct–Dec, tailored to your database size.
Extra Services: Graphic design, ticketed events, automations, website management, digital concierge, and strategy sessions.
Every package is tailored to your needs and budget. Think it’s out of reach? Enquire now — we can plan the work and figure out payments later, so you can enjoy the festive season stress-free.
