The big Belgian retail moments are known in advance: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, the sales, back to school, Saint Nicholas, Christmas. Pick three or four that matter for your shop, prepare one small loyalty action for each, and check the dates that change every year.
Here is a month-by-month calendar. It only includes well-established dates. For anything that moves, like Easter, or that is set by decree, check the dates for the year before you announce anything.
January and February
- 1 January. Public holiday. Many shops are closed: announce your opening hours in advance.
- Winter sales. They start in January and last a month; check the dates for the year. During the sales, customers look for the price, not for loyalty: do not stack a card discount on sale prices without doing the maths.
- 14 February, Valentine’s Day. Florists, chocolatiers, restaurants, beauty salons: a clear peak. One idea: a bonus stamp for customers who come back the following week.
March to May
- Easter. The date changes every year: check it. For bakeries and chocolatiers it is a strong period.
- 1 May. Public holiday.
- Mother’s Day. The second Sunday of May: check the date for the year. For a florist, a pastry shop or a beauty salon, prepare orders several days ahead.
June to August
- Father’s Day. The second Sunday of June in Belgium: check the date for the year.
- Summer sales. They start in July and last a month; check the dates.
- 21 July. National Day, public holiday.
- 15 August. Assumption, public holiday.
- Late August: back to school. School dates differ by Community; check the calendar for the year. For a bookshop, a boutique or a café near a school, it is a restart.
The summer holidays are also when many regulars disappear. A card that stays in the customer’s phone is easier to find again in September than a paper card forgotten in a drawer.
September to November
- September. Habits come back: a good time to launch or relaunch a card. Find the essentials on the home page.
- 31 October, Halloween. Mostly for food and drink shops, with a themed action.
- 1 November. All Saints’ Day, public holiday. Florists see a peak in activity.
- 11 November. Armistice Day, public holiday.
- Late November. Year-end shopping season, including Black Friday: the date moves, so check it.
December
- 6 December, Saint Nicholas. A widely followed tradition in Belgium: chocolatiers, bakeries, bookshops, toy shops. Plan your stock and your hours beforehand.
- 25 December, Christmas, and 31 December, New Year’s Eve: special hours, orders in advance.
- Gift cards. If you sell them, talk to your accountant: a sold balance is money you hold for products not yet delivered.
How do you connect loyalty to these dates?
Three simple ideas, to adapt to your shop.
- Bonus stamp. One extra stamp for a visit during a specific period. Your team applies it when scanning: no equipment to change.
- Seasonal reward. A seasonal product as the reward, changed two or three times a year.
- A message to customers who opted in. With Fidelia Pro, you send a message to customers who agreed to hear your news, for example to announce your year-end hours. See our guide to push notifications to avoid overdoing it. The Pro plan is €59 per month, excl. VAT.
Local fairs and events
Local fairs (braderies), Christmas markets and neighbourhood parties vary from one municipality to another and from year to year. Check the calendar of your municipality or your shopkeepers’ association, and put a clearly visible QR code out for those busy moments.
How many actions should you pick?
Three or four a year are enough. Write them in your diary at the start of the year, prepare them a month ahead and measure afterwards: how many customers added the card, how many came back. Look at the real cost of a reward before you set yours, and at the pricing to choose your plan.