• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, February 10, 2021

Despite lingering high unemployment rates and financial woes amidst COVID-19, global search marketing agency NetElixir forecasts the average Valentine’s Day order value will reach $185 -- up from $165 in 2020.

Hope, wellness, nostalgia, and motivation have become the four purchasing triggers for this year’s Valentine’s Day. Home decor, apparel, gourmet food, health and wellness, and experiences have become the most sought after gift ideas, according to the data released Wednesday.

Paid media spend rose 34% year-over-year (YoY) in January 2021 across the NetElixir platform, and the company expects further increases during the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, driven by increased spending in fashion and beauty.

Jewelry and fashion categories are expected to rise between 18% and 20% YoY, with the total digital marketing spend forecast to increase between 38% and 40% YoY.

While mobile phones are expected to contribute to increase spending -- between 58% and 60% of daily online sales -- NetElixir CEO Udayan Bose believes mobile sales may not experience any unusual spikes, since most consumers continue to work and shop from home.

Social continues to make an impact as well. BrandTotal data shows how brands are spending this Valentine’s Day season reaching consumers through conversation.

Based on data sourced from BrandTotal’s platform between January 15 and February 7, 2021, share of Valentine’s Day topics belonged to Macy’s at 64%, MeUndies at 14%, Tiffany & Co at 10%, and Dunkin’ Donuts at 10%. In 2020, Tiffany & Co. owned 14% share of topic, and Dunkin’ Donuts owned 67%.

Tiffany & Co received the majority of engagements across all channels. Last year, Facebook became the leading channel to generate the majority of engagements for brands, but this year Instagram led engagement for most brands examined by BrandTotal.

Tiffany & Co. used mixed creative and messages, highlighting its unique designs and iconic blue box, as well as love-inspired designs such as heart necklaces and bracelets.

With the message “Celebrate True Connection,” Tiffany & Co added a direct link to purchase, leveraging Instagram’s feature to drive website traffic and sales.

For example, the brand created a mini-site that allowed consumers to select and customize a tattoo that consumers can use as a sticker on their Instagram posts. Each design was based on a classic tattoo style.

Tiffany’s asked customers to create their own and share it with the “#BelieveInLove” hashtag.