Commentary

Love Don't Cost a Thing

Seems like everywhere you look there are online ads for flowers, jewelry, electronics and a myriad of Valentine's Day gift suggestions. If you are reading this you may be an eTailer, an ad agency or sales person working with an eTailer. Or perhaps you are in love. If you are preparing for a posh Valentine's Day season, think again honey.

According to the latest Retail Forward Monthly Shopping Update™ Survey, consumers are planning on spending less than they did last year on Valentine's Day gifts.

According to the survey:

  • Compared with a year ago, more than twice as many households plan to spend less on Valentine's Day gifts.
  • Seventy-eight percent of consumers plan to purchase Valentine's Day gifts this year, spending an average of $88 for all gifts (excluding spending on eating out, movies/theatre/entertainment, or vacations.)
  • Sixty-seven percent plan to buy budget greeting cards.
  • Eighty-eight percent of the under 35s plan to purchase gifts amounting to $106.
  • Forty percent plan to buy candy.
  • Eighteen percent plan to buy flowers, for an average purchase price of $28.
  • Only 5% plan to buy big ticket items such as jewelry and consumer electronics

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    (Retail Forward's Monthly Shopper Update Survey is conducted online each month with a sample of 4,000 U.S. primary household shoppers.)

    We need to dig deeper to ask why these numbers are so low. An uncertain economy and worries about job security are possibilities.

    Hey, as far as I'm concerned, online shopping sites, florists, jewelers and the like shouldn't wince at this year's predicted spending forecasts.

    On the upside, according to National Retail Federation and Big Research, more than half of American consumers (59.8%) are said to be celebrating Valentine's Day this year. Consumer spending online and offline combined should total close to $13 Billion USD this year.

    eBay has been a popular destination as well. A search for the word "Valentine" last week yielded over 42,000 items for sale.

    The National Restaurant Organization doesn't seem to be too worried about spending this year either. They say although the most popular occasion to eat out is for a birthday, Valentine's Day comes in third right after Mother's Day

    Americans spend over $1 billion USD on candy each Valentine's Day. The national Confectioner's Association reports that American women say they'd rather receive chocolate than flowers on Valentine's Day.

    The makers of NECCO Sweethearts Conversation Hearts have modernized famous sayings on its tiny little candy hearts. Don't be surprised if you see one that says, "IM me." NECCO sells approximately 8 billion hearts in six weeks (not bad for a company in Massachusetts.)

    My personal predictions for this season are:

  • There could still be left over gift card spending funding Valentine purchases.
  • eGreeting card companies should expect to be swamped with requests.
  • Telecom companies should ready themselves for an onslaught of SMS messages texting those with words of love. (Who could think of anything more romantic - LOL?)
  • Consumers should expect a bunch of carriers to be unprepared for such messages and slow up the system.
  • Instant messaging should spike in usage time.
  • Shoppers will be looking for discounts as they did throughout the holiday season last November and December.

    They say love is simple; love is blind... this year, if spending does dip, love may be called a lot more.

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