Diwali 2026 promotion calendar for stores

Diwali 2026 is on Sunday, 8 November, so the plan below starts on 10 October and runs to 15 November.^[1] I built it for a neighbourhood grocery or general store. If you sell apparel, electronics or furniture, the dates hold and the products change.

Here are the festival dates the plan hangs on.

Dates can shift by a day depending on your local panchang. The sources I checked disagree by a day on Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj, so check yours before you print anything. If you're in the South, most of your Diwali buying may land on 7 November. If you're in the West, the Gujarati New Year on 10 November is a shopping day of its own.

10 to 16 October: start early

Navratri begins on the 11th. This is the week to start your spend-and-get offer, so customers get used to it before the rush. Fasting essentials do well through Navratri: sabudana, kuttu atta, rock salt, dry fruit. Put them near the front.

Launch the loyalty stamp at the end of the week. It needs the whole season to pay off.

17 to 23 October: Dussehra and a clear-out

Dussehra is on the 20th. Run a weekend grocery sale on your high-margin lines on the 17th and 18th, and a simple Dussehra offer on the 19th and 20th. Use the days after to clear slow stock. You'll want the shelf space for festive items.

24 to 31 October: hampers and cleaning

Open hamper pre-orders around the 24th and 25th, with a photo on WhatsApp. Diwali cleaning week falls in the days before Karva Chauth on the 29th, so put cleaning supplies and pooja items at the front. Finish the month with a sweets-making kit bundle on the 30th and 31st.

Before the last week starts, check four things:

• You have a WhatsApp list of at least 100 customers who agreed to hear from you.
• Your hampers are priced and their margin is at or above your store average.
• You've picked one sharp-price item, with a cap and dates.
• Spend-and-get signs are up at the till.

1 to 5 November: the last five days before Dhanteras

One idea a day works well here. A family-pack price on monthly staples on the 1st. Festival essentials at the front on the 2nd: oil, ghee, besan, sugar, dry fruit. Gift packs and chocolates by the till on the 3rd. On the 4th, announce your weekend sharp-price item and your festival opening hours. On the 5th, set up a small clearance shelf for slow movers, away from the festive stock, and send a last call for hampers.

6 to 8 November: Dhanteras to Diwali

This is your busiest weekend, Friday to Sunday. Lead with hampers and spend-and-get. Add buy 2, get 1 on snacks where your margin allows it, and one flash offer a day on things that spoil. Send no more than one WhatsApp offer a day. Keep your sample hamper on the counter, and put your fastest person on the till.

Offer tags for the peak weekend, made in Flyerworks. One headline word, one big price and a struck-through MRP is all a tag needs.

9 to 15 November: after Diwali

Honour every loyalty stamp, since that's what brings people back. If you're in the West, run a Gujarati New Year offer on the 10th. Bhai Dooj on the 11th is a gifting day. After that, plan for a quieter week.

Then look at the season honestly. What share of your sales came from discounted items? In the guide I say to keep it under about a quarter. If you cut the price on a staple with your own money, that's the one to stop doing next year.

Where Flyerworks fits, and where it doesn't

Flyerworks is where I'd make the flyers for each of these days: a Diwali template, your products and prices, and a WhatsApp-ready image in a few minutes. It doesn't send the WhatsApp message for you. You share the image yourself, to your broadcast list.

Shelf tags for the sharp-price item and the till signs need a paid plan: Starter includes 5 a month, and Pro and Business are unlimited. Both editors work best on a computer.

The full Diwali Offer Guide has this calendar day by day, plus ideas for each store type. It's free with a Flyerworks account, and the first nine pages are open on the site. For the pricing side, read how to price a Diwali gift hamper.