Selling During a Long Weekend: Lessons from Chile's Fiestas Patrias

Do people actually buy during the holiday?

The question I get every year: "Is it worth keeping the store active during Fiestas Patrias?" (Chile's national independence celebration, September 18-19.)

The short answer: yes. The long answer: it depends on how you handle it.

The data we have from the stores we work with shows a clear pattern. Sales drop 30-50% compared to the days leading up to the holiday, but they don't disappear. What changes is the type of purchase: impulsive, from a phone, often influenced by whatever the customer is doing in the moment.

A client who sells home decor told me her best sales last September 18th were between 11 PM and 1 AM. People were in the sobremesa -- that relaxed post-meal gathering around the table -- scrolling on their phones and buying things for the house. They weren't in "shopping mode" -- they were relaxed and in the mood to treat themselves.

The real problem: you don't want to work

And that's completely fair. It's Fiestas Patrias -- you want to rest, spend time with family, enjoy the celebration. You don't want to answer WhatsApp messages every 10 minutes or check orders from a fonda (the traditional outdoor festival parties that pop up everywhere during the holiday).

The good news: you don't have to, as long as you set things up right.

Automations that save your September

1. Auto-replies on WhatsApp and Instagram

Set up an automatic message like: "We're celebrating Fiestas Patrias! Your order is being processed and we'll get back to you on [date]. If it's urgent, check your order status here: [tracking link]."

It's not cold. It's professional. And your customer would rather get that than no response at all.

2. Confirmation email with all the details

Your order confirmation email should include:

• Order details
• Estimated delivery time (with a note that holidays may cause delays)
• Tracking link if you have one
• Contact channel for urgent issues

If the email has all the information, the customer doesn't need to message you to ask.

3. Visible FAQ on your store

Anticipate the questions that are going to come in:

• "When does my order arrive?" -- Clear timelines based on purchase date
• "Can I change my shipping address?" -- Defined process
• "Are you working during the holiday?" -- Honest answer
• "Do you offer express shipping?" -- If you do, until when

Put these questions somewhere visible. A banner or a section on your homepage. Every question a customer resolves on their own is one less inquiry you have to handle.

4. Batch processing

Don't process orders one by one during the holiday. Set processing windows instead. For example: "I review and process orders once a day at 10 AM." That way you have a defined block of work and the rest of the day free.

Let the customer know in the order confirmation: "Orders placed during the Fiestas Patrias holiday are processed on the next business day." Nobody gets upset when they know what to expect.

What you should actually do during the holiday

There are three things that take 15 minutes and are absolutely worth it:

Check your numbers once a day. Not to work, but to know how things are going. If something is working particularly well (a product that's selling out, a campaign that took off), you can make a quick decision.

Post a story from the celebration. Something real: your barbecue, your table, a toast. With a "Happy Fiestas Patrias from [your brand]." Zero selling, pure connection. It's the kind of content that generates genuine engagement.

Check that nothing has gone down. A 30-second glance at your store to confirm checkout works and your payment gateway is active. If something crashes during the holiday and you don't notice until Monday, you just lost 3 days of sales.

The Monday after the 18th

This is where the second part of the campaign begins. The orders that piled up during the holiday need to be processed fast. Customers who bought on the 17th or 18th are anxious for their products.

Your priority on the first business day:

1. Process and ship all pending orders
2. Respond to accumulated messages
3. Send a reactivation email: "We're back -- and here's what's left from the campaign"

The long weekend isn't the end of September. It's a pause. And if you handle it well, post-holiday sales can be just as good as the week before.