calendars have grown by over 10.7 per cent this year compared to last year, and they are seeing an average of about 594,700 searches per month. The data confirmed that skincare-related advent calendars are the fastest-growing category, as searches for terms like ‘skincare’ alongside ‘advent calendar’ have grown over 81.8 per cent this year compared to last year. Why is retail obsessed with advent calendars? For those who are unfamiliar, an advent calendar is an object or picture featuring windows, pockets, or other removable pieces from which to pull small gifts, ranging from pieces of candy to luxury fragrance products.  Traditionally, advent calendars feature a window for each day leading up to Christmas, starting on December 1; however, in recent years, this gift type has become more non-denominational.  Now there are calendars with eight pockets leading up to each night of Hanukkah, such as those made by Crate & Barrel and Build-A-Bear, or calendars with 31 slots for the entire month of December, such as the one sold by luxury bath and skincare company Sabon.  Heather Ibberson, a senior retail analyst from the retail intelligence company Edited, noted that, “What makes beauty calendars so successful is they work well across market segments, giving customers options in multiple price brackets.” For example, in 2022, the calendars available in Saks Fifth Avenue had prices ranging from a more accessible US$65 to a more steep US$3,500.  Additionally, in an industry where content is often king, advent calendars are a great way for brands to produce organic consumer-generated content. In addition to videos centered on customers showing off their shopping hauls, advent calendar unboxings have become a popular video theme on short-form content platforms such as Instagram or TikTok.  From October 29 to November 28, the TikTok hashtag #adventcalendar garnered over 190 million views in the US alone.  What are the risks? While advent calendars are a great way to stir up excitement for a brand’s staple products and newly launched items, businesses need to be careful about which items they curate for their advent calendars.   When social media influencer and founder of the fragrance brand Forvr Mood Jackie Aina unveiled the contents of Dior’s 2022 advent calendar, which retailed for US$3,500, a storm of reactions flowed across social media and numerous news outlets.  Many consumers were outraged by what they believed to be a paltry array of items, like mini soaps and a coaster, in such a luxuriously priced calendar. The response echoed a similar reaction to Chanel’s 2021 advent calendar, which retailed for US$825, and contained less-than-satisfactory items like a dust bag and stickers.  However, when Aina revealed the content of the 2023 Maison Francis Kurkdjian countdown fragrance calendar, which retails for US$995, the majority of the comments were overwhelmingly positive.  Despite the relatively high price of the gift set, consumers felt that with the carefully curated selection of the brand’s products, including a few full-size versions of cult-favorite items, the advent calendar was well worth the price. At the time the article was written, the countdown calendar was completely sold out on the brand’s website.  As Ibberson pointed out, “These items [advent calendars] especially thrive within the luxury beauty market as customers are willing to pay a higher price, feeling it’s the best value for money.” She elaborated, “As value is the key driving force behind its popularity, advent calendars entice customers by promoting the total value of the product vs the actual cost.” Another thing retailers may want to keep in mind regarding the creation of advent calendars is the sustainability factor or the lack thereof.  Packaging for advent calendars is typically bulkier and harder to recycle than the typical product containers.  One way that retail brands can navigate this issue is to invest in more eco-friendly packaging and shipping materials, both for their year-round and holiday-based product offerings.  For example, the coffee, tea, and coffee company Yawn Brew’s packaging for its advent calendar is not only made of FSC-certified cardboard, but the brand also packs its boxes with biodegradable and compostable packing peanuts. Consumers can also select their preferred grind to make the coffee advent calendar more suited to their needs, and less likely to be thrown out or unused, and the pouches for the coffee are made from plastic and are fully recyclable.  The lasting popularity of advent calendars  Ibberson believes that the appeal of the advent calendar will not fade away anytime soon. “Edited is not currently seeing demand slow, especially among retailers whose advent calendars have become a major part of their holiday offering, with Space NK’s offering having already sold out for this year.  “Google data, searches for the Charlotte Tilbury advent calendar have almost doubled YoY, seeing 40,500 monthly searches between the months of August and October 2023, compared to 21,100 in 2022,” Ibberson elaborated. “The challenge today comes from increased competition in the market. Brands and retailers need to stand out by offering a mix of both exclusive and cult products to entice and surprise customers.”