How early to start
People don’t buy at the same speed for every occasion. Sweets, flowers and puja items are bought in the last few days. Clothes, jewellery and electronics are bought one to three weeks ahead. Corporate gifts, wedding services and school admissions are decided weeks or months before.
A simple rule works: start your ad as early as your customer starts thinking about the purchase, and keep it running into the last few days, because last-minute buyers walk in too.
January to April
The first months mix the end of the wedding season with harvest festivals, regional new years and the scramble for school seats.
If you sell ACs, coolers or summer travel, start in March. By the first properly hot week, many buyers have already started comparing.
- January: Makar Sankranti around 14 January, celebrated as Uttarayan in Gujarat, Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Magh Bihu in Assam. Kites, til sweets and new clothes. Lohri falls just before it in Punjab. Republic Day, 26 January, brings sale weekends for clothing and electronics.
- February and March: weddings continue in many regions. Maha Shivratri, then Holi in February or March for colours, sweets and snacks. Coaching classes and schools start admission ads for the new year.
- March and April: Gudi Padwa and Ugadi, then Baisakhi, Vishu, Puthandu, Bohag Bihu and Poila Boishakh in mid-April. Many families buy gold, vehicles and household items around these days.
- April and May: Akshaya Tritiya, a big gold-buying day for jewellers. Summer camp enquiries and summer product sales pick up.
May to August
The middle of the year is quieter for festivals and busier for routine needs: holidays, schools reopening and the monsoon.
For Raksha Bandhan, start about two weeks ahead, and earlier if you send rakhis and sweets to other cities, since those orders are placed first.
- May and June: summer holidays. Travel packages, hill station hotels, summer camps, AC servicing, and coaching for the next academic year.
- June and July: the monsoon arrives. Rainwear, pest control, waterproofing and indoor activities. Schools reopen in many states, so uniforms, books and tuition.
- July or August: Raksha Bandhan, for sweets, gifts and rakhis.
- August: Independence Day, 15 August, for sale weekends. Janmashtami in August or September, and Onam in Kerala in August or September.
September to December
This is the busiest stretch of the year for most shops. If you only advertise once, plan it for these months, and plan your Diwali ad in September if you take bulk or corporate orders.
The wedding season overlaps with Diwali here, so jewellers, ethnic wear stores, caterers, photographers, event planners and salons can keep ads running from October through February.
- August or September: Ganesh Chaturthi, biggest in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
- September or October: Navratri, Durga Puja and Dussehra. Garba nights in Gujarat bring demand for chaniya cholis and jewellery.
- October or November: Dhanteras and Diwali, the biggest buying weeks for most shops. Corporate gifting is decided three to four weeks before. Chhath Puja follows in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
- November to February: the main wedding season in much of north and west India.
- December: Christmas and New Year, for cakes, parties, restaurants and travel.
Regional differences
India doesn’t run on one festival calendar. Pongal matters far more than Lohri in Chennai, and the reverse is true in Ludhiana. Durga Puja is to Kolkata what Ganesh Chaturthi is to Pune. Eid, Christmas and Gurpurab are big in some neighbourhoods and quiet in others, so think about who lives in your target area.
Most festivals follow the lunar calendar and shift by a few weeks each year. Check the current year’s date before you plan. Fixed days like 14 January, 26 January, 15 August, Christmas and New Year are easy to plan months ahead.
When you buy a plan in our app, you approve the design first and the plan’s days start when the ad goes live. Leave a few days for that and for Meta’s review before the date you want customers to see it.
Questions
How early should I start a Diwali ad?
Three to four weeks ahead for corporate gifts and bulk orders, about two weeks ahead for clothes, jewellery and electronics, and ten days ahead for sweets and decorations.
Is the wedding season the same everywhere?
No. In much of north and west India the main season runs roughly November to February, with another stretch in the summer in some regions. Auspicious dates vary by community and year, so ask a few regular customers when weddings in their families are planned.
Should I advertise during festivals that don’t affect my business?
Only if your customers spend on them. A pest control service gains little from Holi. Use those weeks for your usual ads, or save the money for your own busy season.