February 22 2019

What set consumer hearts racing this Valentine’s Day?

Nothing stands in the way of true love when it comes to Valentine’s Day spending, presenting retailers the perfect opportunity for retailers to engage with consumers once the Christmas period and New Year sales season are over.

In 2019, Valentine’s Day retail spend was predicted to be worth over £1bn in the UK, with consumers splashing out more than ever, regardless of Brexit uncertainty and post-Christmas financial stretch. As Valentine’s Day spend continues to grow annually, it’s helpful to understand consumer behaviour at this time of year, so, we’ve once again used our ‘Have Your Say' survey that collects the views of over 7,000 customers every day, to go behind the headline stats and this is what we’ve found:

We’re still saying it with flowers

The UK is a nation of old-fashioned romantics, it seems, – with our survey showing that flowers were by far the most popular Valentine’s Day gift this year. Almost two-thirds of respondents and over 80% of males had opted to express their affections with a bunch of blooms. Happily, ‘Have Your Say’ also indicated that customer satisfaction had increased by 9% year-on-year for customers who ordered flowers for delivery by Yodel. In fact, we delivered over 155,000 bunches on Valentine’s Day, an increase of 15% on last year, showing that the traditional gifts are still as popular to buy online as in store.

Online buying has big allure

We discovered that customers chose to shop online for a number of reasons this Valentine’s Day. Convenience was a key factor for those who didn’t have time to visit the shops or found it difficult to source items in-store. Customers also cited a better range of products and better value for money as driving their decision to shop online. Drilling down further revealed that online shopping is a popular choice for Valentine’s shoppers wanting to surprise their partners, as well as for couples in long-distance relationships; presenting savvy retailers with the opportunity to target this consumer demographic specifically.

Informed customers make for a Happy Valentine’s Day

We know that informed customers are happy customers, it’s why we’re constantly seeking new ways to help customers keep track of parcel progress including introducing a live driver map, which allows shoppers to monitor a driver’s journey as their parcel makes its way to their doorstep, we’ve seen a big increase in the customer satisfaction when it comes to customers being informed on their delivery. Understanding the importance of keeping customers in the loop has been recognised, with a high proportion of flower suppliers sending their bunches via our Xpect service, providing customers with a two-hour delivery window notification on the morning of their delivery, giving a significant boost in satisfied Valentine’s shoppers.

It’s never too late

Our data analysis has unearthed some interesting differences between the sexes in terms of spending habits and, it’s told us that men were more likely to order gifts over a week before Valentine’s Day. Overall, most purchases were made within 2-3 days of the main event, with 42% of respondents placing their orders then.

Nothing says romance like a vacuum cleaner

It’s clear that UK consumers are a generous bunch – an impressive 16% of parcels shipped through Yodel in the run-up to Valentine’s Day were gifts. But some respondents have a less conventional idea of what constitutes romance than others. Gift choices included fishing accessories, protein powder, window blinds and an egg cooker – with ten out of the 2,000 respondents sending vacuum cleaners to  their loved ones.

The UK’s love affair with Valentine’s Day shows no signs of fading and it presents online retailers who have an appreciation of customer needs and behaviours at this time of year with a fantastic opportunity to boost customer experience and nurture brand loyalty. After all, every successful relationship is built on understanding.

Get in touch with us via the right-hand side form to learn more about our Have Your Say customer feedback programme and services.