Get the infographic!

1. SELF-LOVE IS THE BEST LOVE (OR SOME SAY).

   Insight: While more consumers say they are not officially “celebrating” on February 14, many people engage in a purchase decision or event that’s connected to the holiday in some way. According
   to the NRF:

   25% of people who aren’t celebrating admit they still plan to treat themselves to something special, hold a get-together with other single friends or even purchase an “anti-Valentine’s Day” gift.

   These types of activities are even more popular among younger consumers — the same age groups who appear to be driving a decline in Valentine’s Day celebrations.

   More than a third of those under the age of 35 who say they are not “celebrating” still have plans to splurge on themselves or spend time with other single friends.

   Digital Marketing Tactic: Be sure to focus some of your content programming during this time on self-care. If your brand is not a fan of taking on Valentine’s Day colors and direct messaging because it doesn’t fit with your go-to-market strategy, you can still use subtle tools as website pop-up offers, reward offers and social media videos to promote your product’s value as it relates to how it affects the consumer on an individual, personal level. You’d be surprised how many people may book themselves a weekend trip, haircut or just indulge in a shopping spree to show they don’t care about the holiday but rather use it as an opportunity to show themselves some TLC.

   

2. EXPERIENTIAL GIFTS ARE ALL THE RAVE.

   Insight: Among those celebrating Valentine’s Day, a quarter plan to give a “gift of experience” such as concert tickets or a day at the spa this year. It’s significantly more popular among younger consumers — 39 percent of those 18-24 and 45 percent of those 25-34 plan to give an experiential gift.

   Digital Marketing Tactic: If you are the purveyor of cooking classes and love-themed bar crawls this trend will work in your favor but if your product is available in-store, use email campaigns and social media video marketing to really get audiences jazzed about how your product makes them feel. Whether your skincare brand or a new restaurant pop-up, video marketing and high-quality imagery can really get audiences excited about the life experiences associated with the usage of your product and therefore make this tactic ideal to employ during the Valentine’s Day promotional period.

   

3. PETS GET EVERYONE’S ATTENTION

   Insight: Americans were expected to spend a near-record high of $751 million on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets in 2018 — an average of $5.50 per person.

   Digital Marketing Tactic: Whether you’re a cord-cutter or still a lover of cable TV, you’ll realize most ads have a cat, dog or pet in at least one of the frames of the video. It’s because most audiences, regardless of generation, consider the pets in their household a member of the family unit and consider their well-being when making decisions which may affect their comfort level. Brands like Tesla have used this insight to influence their product roadmap by even creating a dog-mode option so drivers can leave their dogs in the car, without ever wondering about overheating. For this Valentine’s Day, if your product or service, can directly or indirectly improve the ‘feel-good vibes’ of pets today, showcase this experience visually across your digital channels. Whether that’s the image on your website’s pop-up form or a user-generated video that’s ideal for Instagram or Tik Tok, be sure to incorporate this adorable visual story (if it applies to your business type), to gain more interested eyeballs this Valentines’ Day season.