Maybe you’re a love bug, looking forward to Valentine’s Day each year with great expectations. Or maybe you’re one of the ones trying to avoid it. Even if you’re not the “hearts and flowers” type, the hearts and flowers of Valentine’s Day are everywhere. Regardless of your personal feelings about it, it’s a big deal, and marketers should leverage Valentine’s Day as a key tentpole holiday, especially on mobile.
Ranking as the second-highest holiday for spending (after Christmas), Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to maximize marketing ROI. The challenge though is to stand out in a sea of romantic-themed campaigns. Most consumers tend to be one-time shoppers on Valentine’s Day, but brands can focus on mobile and convert that interaction into a more permanent connection.
This year, U.S. Valentine’s Day gift-givers will spend a record-breaking $20.7 billion, according to the study published by eMarketer. The survey also found that consumers will spend, on average, roughly $162 per person. Those ages 35 to 44 will be the biggest valentine spenders, at $279, followed by 25- to 34-year-olds, who will spend $239.
The biggest surprise in the study is consumers’ focus on spending for themselves. Consumers are planning to spend roughly $236 on themselves this Valentine’s Day. In fact, only wives ($358) and kids ($280) top consumers’ self-spending, according to the survey.
Another study from Criteo analyzes the shopping and digital behaviors of users before, during, and after Valentine’s Day. Sales start rising a full week before. Most paramours and romantics purchasing online placed their orders a few days ahead and before the weekend. In both the US and in Europe, sales really started to surge on February 6th. While some portion is ready prior to the special day, there are also last-minute shoppers. A lot of them. Those consumers overwhelming prefer mobile! Tthe share of orders made on mobile devices increased from 32% to up to 53% in the US, and from 25% to up to 47% in Europe.
These tips for retailers with both online and brick-and-mortar can help create a better Valentine’s Day ROI, and maybe save some last-minute shoppers a little stress.
5 Tips to Win Valentine’s Day on Mobile
- Personalize Your Message: Know your audience, reach them with personalized messages. This way you can grab more attention.
- Lead Users to the Store: As your audience is looking for easy ways of finding a gift, make things easier for them. Map them the closest route to your store.
- Show them Different Options: One option is never enough. Show potential customers many options to pick from.
- Clever Retargeting: Retargeting is a tricky subject. Don’t over-target your users 10 days after they already got a gift, again and again. But it is beneficial to retarget them and remind them of your products & services eventually. Frequency caps are important!
- Right Timing & Content: Keep the hearts and flowers to pre-valentines and Valentine’s Day. After Valentine’s Day communication should be different. No need to mention shorter videos and engaging executions will increase your brand metrics.
Building the right strategy is not always easy, especially when it is all about emotions. It takes a strong mobile marketing partner to pick the right audience, build the tailored creatives, optimize according to real brand metrics, measure its effects with third party studies, and get the best out of it on the 14th of February.
How About a Date?
Your brand doesn’t have to be alone this year though! Looking to add to your Valentine’s opportunities and bring in those last-minute clients? We can help. Reach out on our contact page and let’s match-up, make plans, and enjoy mobile success together this year!
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