Q1
2026
Super Bowl LX lands six days before Valentine's Day. Presidents' Day falls one day before Chinese New Year. This is your comprehensive guide to the most compressed retail calendar in years.
The "Q5" Phenomenon
That post-Christmas exhale everyone takes? It's a trap.
The retail industry has quietly started calling December 26 through mid-January "Q5"—and the numbers explain why. Gift card redemption drives this: 40-50% of gift cards purchased in November/December are redeemed in Q1's first months, with consumers spending $59 more on average than the card's face value.
Gift card recipients aren't your regulars—they're first-time customers forming lasting impressions. 44% visit a store they wouldn't have visited otherwise. Get this wrong and you've lost a pre-paid customer who cost you nothing to acquire.
The fitness window closes fast: Target January 1-12 before "Quitters Day" hits around January 12, when 80% of resolution-makers abandon their goals.
January 2026
CES 2026 & The Tech Calendar
Press conferences begin January 4 with Samsung's "The First Look." The main event runs January 6-9 in Las Vegas, setting the stage for Q1 tech launches.
Key Keynotes
Xbox Developer Direct
Confirmed for January 2026 (likely January 22). Playground Games presenting Fable and/or Forza Horizon 6 content. Microsoft signals "more stuff than can fit in one show."
Fashion Week Calendar
Notable debuts: Duran Lantink at Jean Paul Gaultier (first couture January 2026), Moncler Grenoble FW26 show in Aspen (January 31).
Super Bowl
The Hype Multiplier
Bad Bunny becomes the first Latin male artist to solo headline the halftime show.
The six-day gap between Super Bowl (February 8) and Valentine's Day (February 14) means food and beverage brands can create campaigns spanning both events. Bad Bunny's halftime creates Latino market activation potential unprecedented in the event's history.
Valentine's Day
Saturday Changes Everything
Landing on a Saturday shifts the entire commerce dynamic. Experience-based gifting gets a major boost. But for product-focused brands, this creates urgency: last-minute shoppers can't wait until the weekend to buy.
38% shop online (top destination), followed by department stores (34%) and discount stores (29%). Mobile dominates: 66% of e-commerce visits, 51.4% of revenue.
Sneaker Release Calendar
February 2026
Fragment x Union x Jordan 1
The most anticipated sneaker drop of Q1 2026. Three colorways, extremely limited stock, unprecedented bot traffic expected.
Expect: Bot traffic exceeding human traffic by 10:1. Site instability across every retailer. Resale premiums of 300-500% within hours. Customer service volume spikes lasting days.
The Critical Stretch
February 8-17
Eight consecutive days of high-traffic potential. If your infrastructure isn't stress-tested for overlapping load, you're rolling the dice with your brand.
Year of the Horse
Critical correction: Many brands produced "Year of the Snake" creative based on 2025. Chinese New Year 2026 begins the Year of the Fire Horse. Horse symbolism—freedom, energy, passion—aligns beautifully with February's romantic themes.
Chinese New Year luxury collections from premium brands launch late January through early February. Clé de Peau Beauté, Sulwhasoo, Lancôme (celebrating its 90th anniversary), Givenchy, and Charlotte Tilbury all have limited-edition CNY packaging and products.
Conversion Benchmarks
That mobile gap is brutal. Your site might convert at 4% on desktop—but when 66% of your Q1 traffic comes from mobile at 1.8% conversion, the math gets ugly fast. Optimize accordingly.
Planning Lead Times
Ready for Q1?
The winners in Q1 2026 will be platforms that treat January 1 through February 17 as a continuous selling season rather than discrete events. Fanfare handles the stampede so you can focus on the strategy.
Learn More About Fanfare