Preparing for Valentine’s: How to boost your business with bestselling gift ideas

Love is in the air, once again. Across the UK and globally, couples will be deliberating over what to buy for one another in time for St Valentine’s Day, taking advantage of the new season’s trends and, if past experience serves, falling back upon the old classics.

The tradition of celebrating partnership dates back to the Pagan festival of Lupercalia, which celebrated fertility. Lupercalia was then succeeded by a Catholic feast day to commemorate the martyred St Valentine, killed for performing miracles on earth.

Valentine’s Day was later linked to romance by poets and playwrights, who observed that the day fell around the time that European birds start to mate.

Today, Valentine’s Day is a multi-billion dollar industry: according to annual projections, Brits are likely to spend a combined £1.37 billion in 2022, making it the perfect opportunity to promote your wares.

Old Favourites

What comes to mind when contemplating traditional Valentine’s gifts? Chocolate, perhaps – and flowers. While some dismiss these old standbys as cliché or lazy, they are still amongst the most popular presents, according to a Mills & Boon questionnaire conducted in 2020.

Of the British women surveyed, 61% most desired a card, while 53% wanted flowers; 53% also craved chocolate, 38% wanted a favourite drink – either wine or coffee – and another 38% hoped for jewellery.

Cards

The popularity of Valentine’s cards presents a great opportunity for any crafty business owner looking to make a bit on the side. Simple designs can be printed and sold at a reasonable mark-up: for an original touch, try using a design that relates to your business somehow.

If cards seem like a step too far, how about charging a little extra for items to be gift-wrapped in a Valentine’s theme? By advertising Valentine’s wrapping, you may inspire customers to consider your products as possible gifts – you could also offer personalised notecards, addressing your wares to their recipient.

Flowers

Unless your business specialises in cut flowers or plants, this one might be tricky. However, there are workarounds.

Cheap, long-lived stems could be bought and sold alongside your usual stock, as an optional add-on: carnations are long-lasting, as well as chrysanthemums and orchids. Alternatively, you could sell fabric flowers or dried flowers, to minimise the risk of damage.

If flowers themselves are too difficult, you could capitalise on the theme another way. Order garments with flower or love heart motifs; floral perfumes and bath products may also attract more sales if advertised with a Valentine’s Day twist.

Chocolate

Chocolate is the ultimate foolproof Valentine’s gift: beloved by all yet fairly inexpensive. What’s more, the cocoa bean has a sensual history, featuring in ancient marriage and fertility rites.

The drawback for retailers is that it can be bought pretty much anywhere. In order to stand out, source chocolates that honour the occasion somehow: think foil-wrapped hearts and personalised chocolate tiles.

Even if your business doesn’t sell food ordinarily, consider selling chocolates as an add-on, or include a complimentary bar with each Valentine’s order. Such a gesture could really set you apart from your competitors.

New for 2022

It’s looking like this year, couples are seeking gifts that are a bit more personal, placing emphasis on emotional intimacy and remembered times together.

According to Google, the way we gift has changed over the pandemic, with people forced to be apart finding new ways to express their love. Between 2020 and 2021, there was a 700% increase in the number of google image searches for ‘long distance miss you quotes’.

Maria Helena Marinho, Consumer Insights Manager at Google, recommends that marketers should be ‘broadening their messaging to consider new emotional motivations behind gift giving.’

For business owners, this may mean allowing customers to customise mugs, T-shirts or posters to reflect a memory or significant date.

It could also mean expanding your range of gifts to include more sentimental items, such as poetry cards, photo albums and keepsake jewellery.

Marketing Your Wares

Once you’ve got stock sorted, the next challenge is competition. Retailers great and small will be pitching their hardest to win Valentine’s custom – in order to stand out, you’ll need a foolproof marketing strategy.

Thoroughness is at the heart of a successful campaign – use all the platforms and techniques at your disposal to attract visitors to your site, and once they’re there, streamline the customer experience to make purchase as easy as possible.

Advertising via social media can help with the first step – attracting your target market. Use Facebook, Instagram and targeted website ads to flaunt your wares, keeping messaging simple. According to AdEspresso by Hootsuite, writing short and strong Call to Action messages (CTAs) is not only more persuasive, but also necessary due to the character limits.

Also consider tailored adverts for subscribers: send emails offering discounts or free delivery to reward loyalty and encourage repeat sales.

When customers arrive at your website, they’ll be seeking an intuitive experience. You can make their journey easier by categorising your products.

Consider creating a separate page for Valentine’s presents if you’re still selling other stock: otherwise, divide your Valentine’s collection by price, genre or function. Dividing by gender is also a popular strategy, but beware of causing offence or reinforcing stereotypes if you go down this route.

International Sales:

One final thing to consider – international sales. Some products undergo transit better than others: for example, you may not want to offer shipping on ceramic wares or fine chocolates prone to melting.

It may also be wise to include latest recommended shipping dates on your site, to avoid possible complaints if gifts don’t arrive on time.

Additionally, you’ll need to think about repatriating funds from overseas sales. At Currencies Direct, we offer multi-currency collection accounts as well as personalised online services, excellent exchange rates and expert insight into market rates.

To find out more, get in touch with our team on Business@currenciesdirect.com or call +44 (0) 20 7847 9400.