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If you’re a Walmart supplier, you know there’s no shortage of Walmart Fiscal Year Planning Calendars. Dozens of businesses produce them each year because “Walmart calendar” is one of the highest-searched terms online for both new and seasoned suppliers.
While there are many Walmart fiscal year planning calendars to download, there’s surprisingly little information on how to use a planning calendar for new suppliers and analysts. Apart from having the Walmart quarters and weeks at a glance, the calendar is meant to help forecast events that remain consistent, rotate, or are complete anomalies year to year.
In this article, we’re going to look at the top 10 ways to use the Walmart planning calendar. If you don’t have one already, click here to download the FYE27 planning calendar and get set to make notes!
10 Ways to Use the Walmart Fiscal Year Calendar
Once you’ve downloaded a calendar and have your highlighter handy, use these tips to plan:
1. Map Out Major Retail Holidays and Supplier Closures
Holiday sales drive the bulk of Walmart category volume. Comparing how holidays fall one year to the next helps suppliers plan inventory, marketing, and retail-ready packaging.
A few retail holidays to make note of include:
The Easter flip: Easter can fall as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. It’s important to account for the shift when comparing year over year performance. A big shift in dates also requires adjustments to modular transitions, freight planning, and scheduling production.
Early vs. Late Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving in the United States can fall as early as November 22 or as late as November 28. Retailers prefer an early Thanksgiving as it means more shopping days from Black Friday through Christmas Day. A later Thanksgiving will mean longer autumn sales periods and later holiday resets.
Halloween weekday vs. weekend: While Halloween is always October 31, where it falls in the week can impact key categories. Costumes and candy will always see sales spikes the week leading up to Halloween. However, retail analysts have reported more adults will host or attend parties when Halloween falls on a weekend. This comes from watching fluctuating year over year sales in adult costumes and adult beverages.
While reviewing holidays, this is also a great time to map out when your offices and warehouses will be closed. Whether it’s for holidays, manufacturing down time, or other events, map those out early and add to ASPEN. This is crucial so regular scheduled supply chain business can be adjusted.
2. Note the Previous Year’s Sales Anomalies
Each year can bring unforeseen sales spikes and dips. These anomalies can’t be predicted, but they can be accounted for and planned against in the following year. It’s important to make note of these unique instances to reflect back on when planning the next year with your Walmart buyer. Some anomalies include:
Severe weather: Areas that experience tornados, hurricanes, flooding, or wildfires will see demand for emergency essential items. Sales spikes occur in cleaning supplies, power tools, bottled water, and medical safety supplies.
Unseasonable weather: Apparel sales rely heavily on the weather. Long hot summers delay autumn and winter clothing sales. Unexpected snow and ice will also impact inventory on generators, snow removal equipment (from salt to shovels), and select grocery items.
Supply chain issues: If you can’t get product to Walmart, note the reason for the next planning year. Issues at the docks, routing problems, carrier changes, etc., can all reflect a sales spike in the coming year.
Unpredictable demand: The Covid pandemic spiked demand for toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and other health and medical supplies. Examples like this (maybe not as extreme as a pandemic!) should be noted to explain lower sales in the following year and inventory adjusted accordingly.
3. Plan for Freight Peaks and Capacity Constraints
Specific holiday dates may fluctuate, but the seasons can be planned around and the issues anticipated. Each year has the same pressure windows:
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- Back-to-school set (June – July)
- Halloween set (August – September)
- Holiday set (September – October)
The calendar lets you anticipate carrier shortages, rising rates, OTIF sensitivity, and DC congestion.
4. Align Production Timelines With Modular Sets
Most Walmart departments have one to three major set dates. Use the planning calendar to work backward and lay out the year with your team. Solidify the dates when:
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- The planograms lock
- Your modulars hit the stores
- Product must ship
Mapping these dates out with your Walmart buyer will keep you from having to scramble to secure packaging, raw materials, or approvals at the last minute.
5. Schedule Buyer Meetings and Line Reviews at the Right Time
Walmart’s buyer cadence is predictable by department. Use the calendar to plan:
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- When you need your new item pipeline ready
- When you should bring innovation or cost-savings ideas
- When you need to refresh forecasts
Being early and not simply reactive positions you as a preferred partner.
6. Coordinate Promo Submissions and Event Calendars
Walmart’s event cycle for Rollbacks, seasonal promos, and merchandising features can be coordinated with your buyer. Suppliers should block time to prepare:
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- Promo justifications
- Item pricing
- Forecast lift curves
- Supply chain capacity
Missing a promo submission window usually means missing the entire quarter.
7. Prepare for Seasonal SKU Transitions
Certain categories revolve around seasonal resets (i.e., lawn and garden, toys, grills, sporting goods, consumables, and more). Use the calendar to plan:
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- Discontinuations
- New item onboarding
- Inventory cleanup
- Exit strategies
This avoids markdown exposure and keeps stores clean.
8. Lock In Financial Planning: Forecasts, Budgets, and Joint Business Plans
Walmart’s fiscal calendar (February – January) doesn’t follow traditional calendar years.
The planning calendar helps suppliers time:
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- When to finalize yearly forecasts
- When to prepare annual JBP recommendations
- When to reset pricing or cost structures
This keeps you aligned with how Walmart builds its business.
9. Track Competitor and Market Cycles
Retail holidays also impact your competitors’ actions. Suppliers can use the planning calendar to anticipate when:
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- Competitors drop seasonal innovations
- Categories spike in search traffic
- Marketing spend typically increases
This helps you recommend smarter strategies to your buyer.
10. Plan Internal Deadlines Across Your Own Teams
The planning calendar isn’t just for Walmart. It’s for your organization:
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- Marketing teams know content deadlines
- Supply chain knows cutover dates
- Sales teams know review cycles
- Finance knows forecast lock periods
It creates company-wide alignment, eliminating last-minute surprises.
Learn More From 5G!
While a Walmart planning calendar helps with laying out goals for the year, experience with Walmart is the real key! The team at 5G has spent years working with Walmart merchants. With our tools, dashboards, and knowledge of how Walmart operates, you’ll have a solid base for success in forecasting and analytics.
A consultation is absolutely FREE. Click here to set up a call with our team to learn more.