Winning Opportunities for the Second Half of 2025
Although the 6.18 Shopping Festival has just passed, the current economic environment remains challenging. As an SME owner, you absolutely cannot afford to sit back and do nothing. Don’t just wait for 11.11 and Christmas — summer holidays, Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day), Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice, and other occasions are all great opportunities for gifting. Start planning your marketing strategy for the second half of the year now to break through the tough market conditions.
6.18 Shopping Festival
Following 11.11 and 12.12, the 6.18 Shopping Festival is one of the most popular e-commerce peak seasons. Unlike 11.11, which originated from Singles’ Day, the 6.18 Shopping Festival evolved from JD.com’s anniversary celebration into a major promotional event — a prime example of a “created festival.”
The success of this promotional model reflects the limitless possibilities of the e-commerce era and reminds merchants that with creativity, any timing can become a golden marketing window.
Summer Promotions
Although summer vacation may seem like a slow sales season, with flexibility and creativity, you can still launch birthday-exclusive offers or summer product promotions. Additionally, as August and September approach, you can take inspiration from tech giant Apple’s “Back2School” discounts.
According to “Carousell’s 2024 Year-In-Secondhand Insights” data, textbook demand surges before the school term starts. Making it an ideal time to introduce related back-to-school promotions and potentially attract new customers.
Qixi, Mid-Autumn & Winter Solstice
While Lunar New Year may be the most widely celebrated traditional festival, don’t overlook Qixi, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Winter Solstice — all key gifting seasons with strong emotional and cultural value. As long as you can find a connection between the festival and your products, any day can become a historic moment for boosting sales. For example, for Qixi, consider launching “Gifts For Him” and “Gifts For Her” promotions to help customers find the perfect gift without the stress before the romantic holiday.
11.11 Shopping Festival
Although the popularity of the 11.11 Shopping Festival has slowed down in recent years, it remains the largest promotional event of the year. Some consumers also take advantage of the discounts to prepare early for Christmas gift-giving. Therefore, merchants cannot afford to make mistakes in pricing strategy, logistics arrangements, or content marketing. If you want to learn how to use Carousell’s Carousel Ads and other techniques to boost brand exposure, be sure to check out this guide.
Christmas Gift Exchanges
Finally, we certainly can’t forget the annual Christmas season. As gift exchanges have become a staple at young people’s gatherings, small shops can focus on promoting targeted offers like “Christmas Gifts Under SG$20,” “Christmas Gifts Under SG$50,” and “Christmas Gifts Under SG$100.” These tailored promotions help cater to different gifting budgets and significantly increase the chances of making a sale.
Carousell Business Store
Amid a weak retail environment, businesses of all sizes are facing the same challenge. Carousell has as many as 470,000 daily active users, a large user base comparable to that of a major shopping mall, providing the necessary exposure for businesses ranging from small shops to multinational corporations. In addition, by joining the Carousell Business Store, you can enjoy a series of store management tools that allow you to fully leverage the marketing opportunities in the second half of the year, even with limited manpower, enabling you to maintain stability during uncertain times.
Opportunities are created by oneself. Besides the two major e-commerce seasons of the 6.18 and 11.11 shopping festivals, Back-to-School promotions, Qixi Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice, and Christmas are excellent gift-giving occasions.
Just make sure not to miss them!
