“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it a meaning,” a famous quotes suggests. And in India, there is a huge controversy around this word and its various interpretations. The country’s history, architecture and literature are steeped in various allusions to love. But, this liberal outlook towards one of the most important human emotions died somewhere in the middle ages, here. Thereafter, our ancient tradition of love was highly suppressed and frowned upon.
Thus, despite having our very own God of love, our youth fell back on a rather obscure martyrdom of a Christian saint from Rome to celebrate love. It was somewhere in the 1990s that Valentine’s Day began making an impression in India, before that hardly anyone celebrated it here. The rise of economic globalization, the birth of a new class of rich people and the emergence of satellite channels all contributed to the increasing popularity of Valentine’s Day in India. Later, with the advent of the new middle class and its growing buying power, it predictably became a refreshingly great marketing strategy and opportunity for many businesses.
Today, we not only have a day to celebrate love, we have a whole Valentine’s Week, which has grown in to a multi-million dollar business in India. According to surveys the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India(ASSOCHAM), the Valentine’s week, which had already become a Rs 12,000 crore business in 2011, swelled to Rs 15,000 crore in 2013, and it was pegged at Rs 18,000 crore in 2014.
Why online shopping comes as a better option for Valentine’s Day?
Just as consumerism was reaching an all-time high in India, growing Internet penetration gave Indian buyers a new option in shopping—the online store. This new retail market makes a better option for shoppers generally, and particularly on Valentine’s Day. While discounted rates, free home delivery and cash-on-delivery are major lures of online shopping, these are made even more attractive during Valentine’s Week with special offers. There is also the advantage of saving time and being able to shop from the convenience of your home. In fact, if you wish to give your partner something more intimate like lingerie, then you can shop for it online in your own private space, without feeling awkward in a physical store among real sales people. Moreover, you can surprise your partner by directly sending a gift-wrapped order to his/her address without any additional costs for delivery.
Another important benefit of online shopping during Valentine’s Day is getting valuable shopping advice from other shoppers on shopping communities, said Mehul Jobanputra, CEO and co-founder of DesiDime, India’s largest shopping community.
Trends expected in 2015
With so many compensations on offer, it is little wonder that online shopping companies show a marked increase in sales during Valentine’s Day every year. This year too, certain industries are expected to see immense traction during Valentine’s Day benefitting both shoppers and industry stakeholders. Consequently, Mehul Jobanputra shares a few insights and analyzes the top 4 industries:
1.
In 2015, shoppers can expect horizontal players like
Websites to visit for gifting items: Flipkart,
2. Intimate Apparel Industry
More often than not, men, who want to give something more intimate like lingerie to their partners, feel embarrassed to shop for it in physical stores. However, online shopping solves this problem for them as the intimate apparel industry is growing in the online arena. Shoppers can expect discounts as high as 60-70% off on lingerie and nightwear during Valentine’s Day this year.
Websites to visit: Zivame.com, Jabong.com, Prettysecrets.com, Myntra.com
3. Personalized Gift Industry
One of the best ways to make Valentine’s Day even more special is to give a personalized gift. Gifting personalized items has become a lot easier, as all you have to do is select an appealing design and a beautiful memory to go with your chosen present. Shoppers can expect upto 35% off on customized gifting options.
Websites to visit- Printvenue.com, printland.in, wishpicker.com
4. Flower, Jewelry and Cosmetics Industry
While shoppers can expect upto 25% off on cosmetics this year around Valentine’s Day, they can also expect around 35% off on jewelry.
Websites to visit:FernsNPetals, CaratLane, BlueStone, nykaa.com
So, this Valentine’s Day shop more in a smart way. If you still want some last minute advice or quick heads up on where to find the hottest Valentine’s Day deals and discounts, then visit DesiDime.com and other such websites—there you will find all Valentine offers aggregated on a single page. In addition to this, you will also get to interact with fellow online shoppers in real time.
About the author: This article has been written by Vandana Baria, Content Marketing Specialist at DesiDime.com.
(Image: Thinkstock)