Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and the annual pressure to come up with a great gift for our Valentine’s sweetie is upon us. I think Valentine’s Day has become a huge marketing opportunity for retailers.

According to goodhousekeeping.com, 145 million Valentine’s Day cards will be exchanged making it the second most popular greeting card giving event (Christmas is number one). An interesting fact about this is that more than half of those cards will be purchased within six days of the occasion. Is that because some men procrastinate until the last moment? I can’t speak for you, but for me that would be a “yes”. It’s nice to know I’m not alone. I hope the stores will be ready to handle all of us procrastinators that will be out searching for that special card.

On average there are 2.1 million marriages that take place annually in the United States. That works out to more than 5,800 a day. So, presumably, about 5,800 or more marriages will take place this Valentine’s Day, that’s good news for jewelry stores. When you add all the other Valentine’s Day jewelry sales to the mix the figures become very impressive. However, according to tenoris.bi jewelry sales took a dip of more than eight percent in 2023. Will they rebound this year? Too early to tell for sure, however, the jewelry business is still a billion dollar industry. If that’s not a huge marketing opportunity I don’t know what is.

OK, we have covered greeting cards and jewelry, next is one of the most important parts of Valentine’s Day, the candy! According to thedailymeal.com, Valentine’s Day chocolate adds up to more than 58 million pounds. February 13 is the biggest day for chocolate sales. For Valentine’s Day consumers will spend nearly a billion dollars in total candy purchases. Interesting fact, February 15 is the second most popular day for candy and chocolate sales because it all goes on sale after Valentine’s Day and bargain hunters buy it up.

Another retail opportunity for Valentine’s Day is the flowers. Valentine’s Day flower sales account for 25% of all flower sales for the year. Only Christmas has more flower volume and Mother’s Day has more transactions but brings in about the same amount of revenue as Valentine’s Day.

While Valentine’s Day is good for retailers, it is also a good opportunity for people to show their Valentine how much they love or care for them with a special Valentine’s gift. Greeting cards, jewelry, candy and flowers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great Valentine’s Day gifts. There is much more out there like dinner at a fancy restaurant or a special dress etc. If you are not sure what kind of gift to purchase for your special loved one go downtown and visit some of our local merchants and they will be glad to help suggest something special or unique to make your Valentine’s Day one to remember.

Ken Harty is the Publisher of The Daily Iberian. He can be reached at kenh@daily-iberian.com