Dashain is Nepal’s largest retail moment — gifts, clothes, gadgets, food hampers, and travel home. If you sell on Daraz, Instagram, or your own store, waiting until festival week to prep is how you lose margin to stockouts, late delivery, and ad panic.

This 7-week checklist (from late July 2083 / August 2026) is built from agency campaign patterns and PPC seasonality in Nepal.

Seasonal festival marketing and e-commerce in Nepal

Image: Arjan KC media library — PPC seasonality Nepal.

Week 7–6: Foundation (you are here)

  • SKU audit — Which products are giftable? Bundle hampers.
  • Stock + courier SLA — Confirm Dashain cutoff dates with Pathao, Sundar Yatayat, Daraz FBD.
  • Landing page — One /dashain-offers/ URL with delivery cutoffs in bold.
  • Payment mix — Test eSewa/Khalti; keep COD where needed (payments guide).
  • GA4 events — add_to_cart, purchase, generate_lead firing.

Week 5–4: Creative & catalog

  • Photo refresh — Lifestyle shots beat white background for gifts.
  • Nepali + English headlines — “Dashain ko lagi perfect gift” + English subtitle.
  • Meta catalog — Sync stock; disable out-of-stock SKUs to avoid ad disapproval.
  • Email / SMS list — Export last year’s buyers; segment Valley vs outside.

Week 3–2: Paid media ramp

Channel Dashain tactic
Meta Reels Unboxing, hamper assembly, 15-sec offer
Google Search “Dashain gift delivery Kathmandu” long-tail
Retargeting 7-day site visitors — highest ROAS
Influencer Micro creators (10k–50k) beat one celebrity for SMEs

Budget note: Meta benchmarks rise in Q3 — front-load retargeting, not cold reach, in peak week.

Week 1 + festival week: Ops mode

  • Daily stock sync
  • WhatsApp auto-reply with delivery cutoff and return policy
  • Support roster — evenings 7–10 PM NPT peak
  • Pause ads on SKUs that ship after Dashain

Week after: Retention

  • Thank-you message + 10% off Tihar preview
  • Collect review photos (UGC for next year)
  • Post-mortem: ROAS by channel, COD fail rate, top SKUs

Realistic NPR budget (SME)

Item Range
Creative (photo + 3 reels) 15,000 – 40,000
Meta + Google (4 weeks) 40,000 – 150,000
Influencer (optional) 10,000 – 80,000
Courier / packaging surge Variable

See digital marketing pricing.

Inventory and margin planning

Dashain is not only a traffic spike — it is a working-capital event. Model these before you discount:

Line item Question to answer
Cost of goods Can you hold 30–40% more stock without cash crunch?
Return rate Apparel gift SKUs often see higher returns — budget 8–15%
Courier surcharges Festival week fees add NPR 30–80 per parcel on some routes
Ad CPM inflation Meta CPMs in Kathmandu can rise 30–50% in peak week
COD failure Failed delivery = double shipping; tighten address validation

Rule of thumb: if last Dashain’s net margin after ads and returns was below 12%, fix ops before scaling budget this year.

WhatsApp and DM scripts that convert

Most Nepali SME sales still close in chat. Save these templates:

Inquiry response (same day):

Namaste! Yes, we deliver before Ghatasthapana if you order by [date]. Total with delivery to [city]: NPR [X]. eSewa/Khalti or COD available. Reply with address + phone.

Cutoff warning (48h before):

Dashain delivery cutoff for [region] is [date/time]. Orders after this ship post-festival. Want to reserve stock? 20% advance via wallet locks your items.

Post-purchase:

Thank you! Track: [link]. Save our number for Tihar offers — next drop [date].

Train staff to never promise courier speed you have not confirmed in writing with the partner.

Daraz-specific checklist

If you sell on marketplace:

  • Enroll in festival campaign before nomination deadline (watch seller center announcements)
  • FBD stock inbound 3 weeks early — inbound queues spike
  • Competitive pricing on 3 hero SKUs, not entire catalog
  • Answer Q&A and chat within 2 hours (algorithm visibility)
  • Match Daraz coupon rules with your own site to avoid channel conflict

Full playbook: Daraz seller guide Nepal.

Landing page must-haves

One /dashain-offers/ page beats ten scattered posts:

  1. Hero SKU with NPR price and delivery cutoff date
  2. Trust row — eSewa/Khalti logos, return policy link
  3. FAQ accordion — COD areas, exchange policy, courier names
  4. Mobile sticky “Order on WhatsApp” button
  5. Schema FAQPage if using static/Jekyll — helps Discover and AI summaries

Speed check: Core Web Vitals fixes — festival traffic is mobile on 4G.

Creative angles that worked (anonymized)

Category Hook Channel
Fashion “Under NPR 2,000 gift set” Reels + retarget
Electronics “Official warranty + Dashain delivery” Search + catalog
Food hampers “Free message card” WhatsApp broadcast
Home decor “Ready to ship today” Meta advantage+ shopping

Avoid generic red-tick overlay stock — scroll fatigue is real. Show real product in Nepali home context.

Tihar bridge (do not go dark)

Two weeks after Dashain, Tihar drives a second gift and lights spike. Keep:

  • Retargeting budget at 30% of peak (not zero)
  • Email/WhatsApp: “Tihar lights & gift round 2”
  • Inventory on low-ticket add-ons (diya sets, sweets hampers)

Seasonality deep dive: PPC seasonality Nepal.

Mistakes we see every year

  1. Promising delivery you cannot hit — refunds kill margin.
  2. Boosting posts without catalog — money burn.
  3. Ignoring Tihar — second spike 2 weeks later; keep one campaign warm.
  4. No mobile checkout test — 85%+ traffic is phone.

Dashain 2083 (2026 CE) dates confirm with official calendar before final cutoffs. Adjust weeks if Ghatasthapana shifts.