International brands and retailers looking to enter the Indian market can leverage India’s various festivals and holidays, ranging from cultural celebrations to holidays adopted from Western culture to shopping festivals created by e-commerce platforms. Retailers and brands can use our 2020 calendar to plan their marketing and sales strategies for the India market. Festivals and holidays take place throughout the year in India and many of these are good opportunities for branding and promotions. Festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Christmas, Eid and Raksha Bandhan are culturally significant and promote family bonding. Celebrations include distributing sweets, exchanging gifts and spending time with family and friends. These festivals are great opportunities for retailers to offer deals and promotions. Some calendar events are adopted from Western culture. Mumbai-based beauty retailer Nykaa hosted a Pink Friday Sale 2018 in connection with Black Friday, offering promotions on cosmetics and beauty products. Women’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are other non-traditional holidays that are widely celebrated – and which also offer promotional opportunities. The opportunities are substantial, especially online. India’s e-commerce sector is booming: Propelled by a rapidly growing Internet user base with rising disposable income, total revenues in India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach $120 billion in 2020, growing an average annual rate of 51% between 2017 and 2020, according to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). And the momentum is expected to continue driven by increased smartphone penetration and growing Internet access: The Indian e-commerce market is expected to hit $200 billion in 2026, according to IBEF.