We have already seen several indications of record-level interest this year. When Kicks launched its Christmas calendar in mid-September, the website crashed under the enormous customer pressure, and for the rapidly growing brand Hickap, the calendar is highlighted as a strong driver behind their latest sales successes. At the same time, the industry still remembers last year's major calendar scandal, where Caia Cosmetics faced a massive wave of criticism and numerous complaints due to quality deficiencies.
It is clear that the Christmas calendar evokes extremely strong emotions. And now, e-retailers' own experiences are backed up by fresh statistics.
According to Prisjakt, interest in Advent calendars during September has increased by a full 46 percent compared to last year. Looking back three years, the desire to buy has more than tripled (+253 percent). At the same time, the range of calendars on the platform has steadily increased since 2020.
The popularity of Advent calendars is driven by several trends at the same time. Interest in beauty is growing, while influencers fuel the hype through unboxings on social media, says Isabella Ahmadi, consumer expert at Prisjakt.
Add to that the element of surprise, a little Christmas nostalgia and limited editions that can trigger the fear of missing out, all of this combined creates a desire to buy.
Not just makeup behind the doors
Although beauty calendars, whose price tags can range from a few hundred kronor to several thousand kronor, often steal the headlines, there is enormous breadth. The most clicked calendar on Prisjakt last year was actually "Pokémon TCG Holiday Advent Calendar".
E-commerce today is filled with doors hiding everything from Lego, Harry Potter and Disney princesses to tools, games and sex toys.
According to Prisjakt, the average price of an Advent calendar last year was 603 kronor.
The dilemma: Buy now or wait for Black Week?
Many e-retailers deliberately release their calendars already now in September. However, for the consumer, the early releases present a dilemma: buy directly at full price to secure a copy, or wait for the sale.
According to Prisjakt, four out of ten calendars are actually discounted during Black Week in November, with an average discount of 23 percent.
It's easy to get carried away when the most hyped calendars sell out quickly, but far from everyone needs to make a purchase as early as September. Keep your cool and watch out for promotions. And think about the bigger picture: Calendars cost money, and that is an expense that needs to fit into the Christmas budget along with Christmas presents, food and everything else that comes with December, says Isabella Ahmadi.