Seasonal calendar for OTTO sellers: planning the sales year on otto.de

Why six to eight weeks of lead time

Three things take time. First, the ranking: a product optimised only during the season often reaches page 1 when demand is already falling – how new products start is covered in Visibility of new products on otto.de. Second, stock: replenishment takes time, and quantity 0 costs position. Third, prices: a sale price (sale with startDate and endDate in the OTTO Market API) can be set up weeks ahead, but the strike-through price must match the lowest price of the last 30 days.

January to March: fresh start and spring

• January: winter clearance and the wave of returns from the Christmas season; fitness, organising and household products ("New Year's resolutions").
• February: Valentine's Day (14 February) for gifts, jewellery, home accessories; Fasching and Karneval for costumes.
• March: start of the garden season, spring cleaning, first balcony and patio furniture. Easter falls on 28 March in 2027 – make Easter decorations and gifts visible from mid-February.

April to June: garden, barbecue, summer

• April: garden, barbecue, bikes, outdoor. Seasonal search terms such as "Gartenmöbel" or "Gasgrill" belong in titles and attributes now – how to find them is in Keyword research for the OTTO marketplace.
• May: Mother's Day (second Sunday in May) and Father's Day (Ascension Day in Germany); wedding season begins.
• June: summer, travel, pools and cooling. Fans and air conditioners react directly to the weather – keep stock ready for heatwaves.

July to September: clearance and back to school

• July: summer clearance; last chance for summer goods before inventory becomes a problem.
• August: school starts between early August and mid-September depending on the federal state – school bags, desks, children's rooms.
• September: autumn and DIY, first fan heaters. Black Week preparation starts now: check keywords, plan stock, calculate prices for the 30-day rule.

October to December: Black Week and Christmas

• October: Halloween decorations, autumn fashion, lighting. Christmas offers live by now at the latest so rankings are in place by November.
• November: Black Week with Black Friday on 27 November 2026 and Cyber Monday on 30 November. How to prepare rankings is in Black Friday on otto.de.
• December: gifts until the last shipping day, then vouchers and last-minute items with short delivery times. Seasonal keywords in Christmas season on OTTO.

The 30-day rule for your promotion planning

Under section 11 of the German price indication regulation, a strike-through price must state the lowest price of the last 30 days – as the Händlerbund explains. For the calendar this means: if you cut the price in September, you no longer have a high reference price in November. Set the regular price at least 30 days before the promotion and then leave it alone. The MSRP in the msrp field may only be shown if it is current. More in Managing prices on OTTO.

Reading rankings seasonally

Seasonal products fluctuate strongly because demand and competition rise at the same time – see Ranking fluctuations on otto.de. So always compare with the same week of the previous year, not with the previous month. MarktRank stores the position history per product and search term; that shows you when the season started last year, so you can start preparing on time this year.

Frequently asked questions