Advertising after Christmas in Vienna: 7 days for exchanges, vouchers and sales

In short: Between Christmas and Epiphany 2026/27, Vienna's shops have exactly 7 trading days: 28 to 31 December plus 2, 4 and 5 January. That is when people come in to exchange gifts, spend gift vouchers or look for reduced prices. Book your screen advertising for exactly those days, from €2 per order, one day is enough. And make sure the till honours what the ad says.

Almost everything online about "exchanging Christmas gifts" is written for shoppers. This article is for you if you are the one behind the till: which days count, what you may advertise, which screens in Vienna run over the holidays and how to measure whether it worked.

Which days count between Christmas and Epiphany 2026/27?

Seven. In 2026, St Stephen's Day (26 December) is a Saturday and 27 December is a Sunday. The first trading day after Christmas is Monday, 28 December.

In practice that means two short blocks. Block A runs Monday to New Year's Eve, block B from 2 to 5 January. Book two straight weeks and you also pay for six days on which your shop is closed.

Who comes into the shop on those days?

Three groups: people with a gift to exchange, people with a voucher and people looking for reduced goods. Each needs a different message.

• Exchanges. These people are coming anyway. Your ad tells them until when and how, and gives them a reason to buy something extra.
• Vouchers. Many are only redeemed in the new year. A reminder like "Got a voucher? Open from 28 Dec" brings them in sooner. How to sell vouchers beforehand: Selling Christmas gift vouchers.
• Sale. This group compares prices. The price on the ad decides, and rules apply to it (see below).

One message per ad. Three messages in 10 seconds is not an ad, it is a notice board.

Do you have to accept exchanges after Christmas at all?

No. In Austria there is no statutory right to exchange goods bought in a shop. You may offer it voluntarily and set the terms yourself, for example printed on the receipt (WKO).

Warranty is a separate matter: if the goods are faulty, the customer has a statutory claim, goodwill or not. Online purchases have their own right of withdrawal. Neither belongs on your ad.

For your advertising this means: a voluntary exchange is a selling point, but only if the terms are clear and apply at the till in exactly the same way. Decide in advance:

1. Deadline. Until when? For example Saturday, 16 January.
2. Proof. Receipt required or not?
3. Condition. Original packaging, unworn, tags attached?
4. Replacement. Other goods, a voucher or a cash refund?

What the screen says must hold at the till. An ad saying "exchanges until 16 Jan" and a sign at the till saying "exchanges until 9 Jan" is exactly the kind of contradiction Austria's Unfair Competition Act treats as misleading (§ 2 UWG).

What may you put on the ad for a post-Christmas sale?

If you advertise a reduction against an earlier price, that earlier price must be the lowest of the previous 30 days (WKO on § 9a PrAG). For a sale starting Monday, 28 December, that period goes back to Saturday, 28 November.

That is the catch: 28 and 29 November are the weekend after Black Friday. If you cut prices then, that reduced price becomes your reference price. "Was €100" may turn into "was €80", and "−30 %" into "−12 %". Do the maths before you design the ad, not after.

A clean line looks like this:

• Fine: "Winter coats €70. Lowest price of the last 30 days: €100."
• Risky: "−50 % on everything" with no reference price and no exceptions, when not everything really is half price.

Prices on ads in Austria are gross prices, including VAT. Details on unit prices and net figures: Prices in your ad. The 30-day rule in full: Black Friday 2026: the 30-day price rule.

Which screens in Vienna run over the holidays?

All 16 Viennese screens in the network run on Sundays and public holidays according to their operating hours, with one exception: the screen in a driving school only plays Monday to Friday. Which location fits depends on where your shop is.

What you get per day, as calculated:

• Mariahilfer Straße, Plankengasse, Josefstädter Straße, Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof: these screens run on the operator's system. You book 1 of 12 slots in the loop. With 16 hours of operation that is 480 calculated plays of a 10-second ad per day. You get the confirmed upload; contacts are modelled.
• Donaupier and Franz-Josefs-Kai: our player runs here around the clock. At a 10 % share of airtime (6 seconds per minute) that is 864 calculated plays per day, each one counted.

All screens with photo, address and price are on the map; the Vienna overview is at DOOH in Vienna.

When do you need to book?

Before Christmas. Operator screens need 24 hours' lead time, and every ad is reviewed before it starts, by AI and by a person. If you only think about booking on 27 December, you lose the most important day.

A plan that works:

1. By mid-December: set your exchange terms and sale prices, check reference prices.
2. By 22 December: upload your ads and book block A (28–31 Dec).
3. Block B (2–5 Jan): book it at the same time if the period is already open. How far ahead you can book is shown in the booking step.
4. For 26 and 27 December: optionally a teaser ad: "From Monday 9:00: exchanges and vouchers." The screens run, your shop is closed, the message sticks until Monday.

Whether you include the Sundays is up to you. An ad without a teaser on a day you are closed is wasted.

What goes on the ad?

A reason to come, your address and a deadline. Ten seconds won't hold more.

Three examples, one per group:

• Exchange: "Doesn't fit? Exchange until 16 Jan with receipt. Musterstraße 1, from Mon 28 Dec."
• Voucher: "Got a voucher? Redeem from 28 Dec. Whole range, new stock too."
• Sale: "Winter coats €70. Lowest price of the last 30 days: €100. Until 5 Jan."

The address in the first example is a placeholder; use yours. Format and resolution per screen: Creative specs.

To see whether it worked, give each ad its own code that the till asks for, such as "DREIKOENIG" for block B. Or a QR code with its own link. How to do that without a degree in statistics: UTM and QR tracking. No dashboard in the world counts people at your till; a code does.

What does advertising between the holidays cost?

From €2 per order, one day is enough. In Austria, 5 % advertising tax (Werbeabgabe) is added, shown as its own line, plus VAT. You see the daily price per screen in the booking step before you pay.

The advantage of the seven days: you only pay for days on which customers can come. Worked examples with real screen prices for €100, €300 and €1,000 are in Advertising for my shop in Vienna; the pricing logic is at DOOH advertising costs. Prefer a ready-made bundle? See the packages.

Nobody can promise you sales. What you get: a booked share of airtime, at a place your customers walk past, on exactly the days they can buy. Not a PDF pretending to be a media plan.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to exchange Christmas gifts?

No. In Austria, exchanges in a shop are voluntary. If you offer them, set a deadline, proof and replacement, and stick to what you advertise. For faulty goods, warranty applies regardless.

Which reference price applies to a sale from 28 December 2026?

The lowest price you charged in the 30 days before, so from 28 November. If you cut prices on the weekend after Black Friday, that price is your reference price.

Do the screens run on St Stephen's Day and New Year's Day?

According to their operating hours, yes: operator screens daily from 6:00 to 22:00, Donaupier and Franz-Josefs-Kai around the clock. Only the driving-school screen runs Monday to Friday. Use the holidays for a teaser.

Can I book only the seven trading days?

Yes. There is no minimum term; one day is enough, from €2 per order. You can set up block A and block B as two bookings.

How do I measure whether the ads brought in customers?

With a separate code or QR link per ad. On player screens you see each play in the dashboard; on operator screens you see the confirmed upload. Whether someone buys, only your till can tell.

Pick your seven days now and book them at adyoutiser.com/book.