What’s in demand, and when

India’s biggest festival and shopping season: gold, sweets, clothes, electronics, home decor and gifts — and Dhanteras, two days before, is a traditional day to buy gold and new things.

The year’s biggest spending period in many countries: gifts, food, parties, decorations and travel, building to 24–25 December.

The biggest discount weekend: shoppers buy holiday gifts and big-ticket items, online and in store. Customers compare prices hard.

Weeks of city-wide discounts, raffles and events in the cool-weather tourist season: retail, hospitality and entertainment peak. Exact dates are announced each year.

Celebrations on 2 December with a long weekend: flags, decorations, events, dining and national-day promotions.

Parties, dinners and countdown events push one night of very high demand for venues, food, drinks and entertainment.

People start the year with goals — fitness, money, learning — so sign-ups and first purchases cluster in January.

China’s biggest holiday: hundreds of millions travel home, gifts and feasts peak — and most factories close for weeks, which matters to anyone importing from China.

Business hours shorten during Ramadan in the UAE; evening retail, dining and Eid shopping get much busier.

Gifts and evenings out for partners: flowers, jewellery, chocolate and restaurant tables peak in the days before 14 February.

The celebration ending Ramadan: new clothes, gifts, family meals and travel, with the busiest shopping in the last week of Ramadan.

Gifts, flowers and meals out for mothers — one of the busiest days of the year for restaurants and florists.

The Feast of the Sacrifice: livestock and meat demand peaks, with family gatherings, travel and new clothes.

Extreme heat and residents travelling abroad: outdoor trade drops, while indoor entertainment, delivery and AC servicing rise.

Families buy uniforms, shoes, bags, stationery and devices, and sign up for tutoring, transport and after-school care.

China’s National Day week: record domestic travel and spending, while many factories and offices close or slow down for the week.