This year’s Valentine’s Day machine was launched in January and sellers have plenty of ideas on how to hit the tastes of buyers. The stakes are high: among Polish customers of e-shops, more than half declare that Valentine’s Day is celebrated, while as many as 44% of respondents buy gifts to their beloved via the Internet. The indicators in European e-commerce look similar, and there is also a great opportunity to increase the turnover of online shops by several hundred million Euros. How is it possible? A good move is not only to create a special Valentine’s Day offer in the e-shop but also to make it easier for the customer to choose the right or high-margin product, e.g. by suggesting it as a recommendation.
Paweł Wyborski, the president of QuarticOn, a company that creates systems for data analysis and building personalized product recommendations, used by European e-commerce leaders, points out:
In the period preceding Valentine’s Day, we observe an increase in Internet sales of women’s underwear. Consumers intensively browse and, most importantly, buy intimate products online. For example, in the Czech Republic, on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, lingerie sales increase by almost 300%.
According to Paweł Wyborski, the increase in e-sales of underwear and other erotic gadgets is mainly due to the fact that the buyer is anonymous. Consumers appreciate the possibility of discreet online ordering and private delivery. Before Valentine’s Day, sales are growing – women’s underwear is bought not only by women for the Valentine’s Day but also by men – as a gift.
According to QuarticOn data collected directly from the e-commerce market, at the beginning of February the sales of lingerie in the Polish Internet grew on average in e-shops by 100%, and in some cases by almost 300%. During the Valentine’s Day Europeans also buy cosmetics. Since 3 February, the number of transactions in this segment has been growing by as much as 150%. The average shopping cart value of a single customer increases by almost 100%. In Hungary, the sales growth rate for cosmetics exceeds 200%.
Wyborski emphasises:
Even higher increases can be achieved by introducing recommendation engines. This is an additional dozen or so per cent of sales each month, not only during Christmas or Valentine’s Day. Thanks to automatic creation of personalised offers, European e-commerce will celebrate next Valentine’s Day with even greater success.
What else on the Internet on the occasion of Valentine’s Day sells best?*
* increase in percentage compared to the period before Valentine’s Day, QuarticOn compilation based on aggregated data from online stores
