Ah, Valentine’s Day – a great day for people in a relationship to give each other presents and celebrate their love. It’s also a great time for eCommerce businesses to explore creative marketing tips and ideas to drive more sales. 

According to Finder, 161.8 million people bought gifts for their Valentine in 2021. Undoubtedly impacted by the global pandemic, Amazon narrowly beat out brick-and-mortar businesses as the top source for Valentine’s Day presents, with 36.55 percent of people buying from Amazon. 

In 2021, 10.60 percent of gifters said they would buy gifts from an online store other than Amazon, implying that almost half of all Americans (47.15%) shopped for Valentine’s Day gifts online.

With this information in mind, here are some steps you can take to improve your eCommerce strategy for Valentine’s Day. 

BOPIS Shopping

Thanks to BOPIS (buy-online-pick-up-in-store) customers who live near a business can get the things they need the same day without having to wait in line. BOPIS sales have increased by over 500 percent during the pandemic, with many customers trying it for the first time. Consumers will continue to benefit from the convenience of BOPIS even after the pandemic, according to supply chain specialists.

BOPIS is also an excellent option to accommodate last-minute Valentine’s Day shoppers who missed the deadline for delivery. Converting your stores into tiny fulfillment centers might also help you save money on shipping. However, in order for BOPIS to work and avoid customer dissatisfaction, your eCommerce platform must display accurate inventory. You can ensure that buyers see the correct product availability even at the eleventh hour by linking your eCommerce platform with your internal processes.

Gift Messages & Wrapping 

As if the gift-hunting process wasn’t stressful enough, there’s also the issue of figuring out how to nicely wrap the presents. To help your customers avoid this headache and save time, add gift messages and wrapping to your services.  

There are specialty gift eCommerce platforms that let the customer add gift wrapping and message options to their online shopping cart and process different fulfillment actions easily. 

Think creatively: Create a popup with gift-wrapping options at the checkout menu. Add options like gift boxes, gift messages, gift box wrapping, etc. You can also offer different patterns for wrappings so every customer can find something they like. 

Flash Sales & Coupons

As Valentine’s Day approaches, more people are feeling the pressure to buy the perfect gift for their loved ones. Take advantage of that sense of urgency to boost sales in the next few days. 

Limited-time coupons and flash deals are excellent strategies to catch a shopper’s eye while they’re browsing your website. You can get creative with headlines like the We-Didn’t-Forget Flash Sale depending on how close the holiday is.

During a flash sale, you offer a discount or a promotion that is temporary. Put the “quantity is limited” sign, which often means the discounts are higher or more significant than run-of-the-mill promotions. The time limit and limited availability entice consumers to buy on the spot.

Valentine’s Day provides an opportunity for eCommerce businesses to kick off the year the right way. Take advantage of the increased traffic to see which approaches are most effective in increasing conversions and improving the customer experience.

If you successfully incorporate flash sales, coupons, promotions, gift messages & wrapping into your marketing strategy during the holiday you won’t get chocolates from your customers; rather, you’ll gain something considerably more valuable – a repeat customer.