Mumbai: A mix of traditional romantics and modern-day shoppers were seen loading their carts on Valentine’s Day. Headphones, rings, chocolates, combo gift sets, men’s t-shirts, stuffed toys and cards were the top products sold on Valentine’s Day 2024 said Flipkart.
The other trends that it saw were:
~ Were men shopping for themselves in higher numbers or at the receiving end for gifts? Men’s apparel and Footwear Categories witnessed a significantly higher number of searches than Women’s Apparel & Footwear Categories.
~ While Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and New Delhi topped the charts for the highest number of metro shoppers, Valentine’s Day shopping was a top priority for customers in T2+ cities like Agartala, Bhagalpur, Gorakhpur, Medinipur and Muzzafarpur to name a few
~ Another interesting observation is that women’s products across beauty and lifestyle witnessed higher demand from metros and T1 cities, while men’s products across sports footwear and motorsport-themed products saw higher demand in T3+ regions
Recognising the significant demand for gifting for Valentine’s Day, Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, made over 10 lakh gifting options available this year via sellers, through EMI options and Supercoin offers. These were combined with deals and same day delivery on select products.
Flipkart also launched its Valentine’s Day campaign, ‘Your Wingman, This Valentine’s’. The aim was to strengthen its position as the one-stop destination for every shopping occasion. It focussed on leading ‘a rescue mission for partners of bad gifters’ combined with a ‘gift seeding’ activation. The campaign looked to connect with lakhs of Gen Z consumers by addressing the universal challenge of selecting the ideal gift for one’s significant other.
Speaking about trends observed on the platform, Ravi Vijayaraghavan, Senior Vice President – Analytics and Data Science, Flipkart said “As we approached Valentine’s Day this year, there are some interesting #FlipTrends that we have observed on our platform. On ‘Rose Day’ (7 February) alone, we observed a remarkable eightfold increase in fresh flower sales compared to the previous month, with customers across India opting for the 3 hour fresh flower delivery service. There has been a notable 2X increase in Valentine’s Day-related searches across various categories, including Valentine gift sets, chocolates, makeup accessories and jewellery, reflecting the diverse preferences of our discerning shoppers.
“Some interesting trends observed on ‘Flippi’ (Chat GPT-powered shopping assistant on the Flipkart app) in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day 2024 are, ‘personalized Valentine’s Day gifts priced between 500 to 1000 rupees’ which emerged as a popular search along with ‘gift for bestie that would remind her of me every day’ and ‘romantic english book’, to cite a few examples. We remain committed to catering to the evolving needs and preferences of our customers, through a seamless and enriching shopping experience.”
Sharing his thoughts on the campaign, Pratik Arun Shetty, Senior Director – Marketing, Flipkart, said “This Valentine’s campaign is a testament to Flipkart’s commitment to understand and serve the evolving needs of GenZ consumers. The campaign was designed to showcase how Flipkart is the ultimate ‘Wingman’, especially when it comes to last-minute shopping for your significant other. Flipkart comes to the aid of its customers by offering great deals on a wide range of gifting options for their loved ones, and as an added delighter, delivers in one day.”
