I often talk to small businesses who have got products that are clearly giftable and yet they don’t realize it. Spoiler alert, most of you brilliant small business owners stock giftable items and therefore Valentine’s Day should be on your radar.

Valentine’s Day is one of the major gift-giving events, and it is on the rise. Statistic.com says that Valentine’s Day spending was just under a billion pounds, it was 990 million pounds in 2022. It is about the same size as Father’s Day when it comes to gift giving – although still under the size of Mother’s Day, sorry dads. It is undoubtedly one of the major spending occasions in the springtime – if you own a product business it’s time to get seductive.

SO what are my six seductive reasons why your customer will buy from you this Valentine’s Day?

1. Date night treats

Not everybody celebrates Valentine’s Day but a LOT of people do. It could be a traditional ‘date night’ or a ‘girls night out’ #galentines, it could be a gift or an item your customer is buying themselves. It could be an item to wear from clothes to earrings, lipstick to socks. Or it could be simply anything red as a nod to Valentine’s Day. It could be a gift for ‘staying in’ from chocolates to a hot water bottle, a candle to a cocktail shaker.

Don’t restrict your thinking to traditional Valentine’s Day gifts, think more about your messaging around your products – could you list all red items or the perfect anti-Valentine’s night in? Small businesses have so much to offer Valentine’s Day shoppers – you just have to let them know!

2. Gift your loved ones

People will want to buy a gift for a loved one for Valentine’s Day but don’t limit your offering to traditional choices – many friends and family members will treat a loved one and that gives scope for creative thinking. I don’t generally buy my children chocolate just for the sake of it but you can guarantee at around Valentine’s Day the supermarkets get me with their cute heart chocolates by the till and I’ll pop 2 on the conveyor belt as I know my kids will love them – small business can definitely offer this type of purchase to their customers.

Put your Christmas hat on briefly – create a Valentine’s Gift Guide where you have suggestions for every type of recipient – and tell your customers about potential gift options – they might not yet realise what they need to buy!

3. Friends

Celebrating your friends on Valentine’s Day is becoming more and more popular so make sure you let your customers know your small business has the perfect gift. You can share some stories on your social media about friendship, what some real customers or staff do when spending time with their friends – this can segue nicely into a gift suggestion.

If you can widen the concept of Valentine’s Day then you widen the gift options required by customers – broadening the scope of what Valentine’s Day means in 2023 means it’s no longer just flowers, chocolate or jewellery (although if you are a small business selling those products you definitely want to be telling your customer about them!).

4. Treat YOURSELF

As a small business owner you will know your customer better than anyone and if you know that your audience has a large number of single people you should be thinking about a ‘treat yourself’ theme and of course an anti Valentine’s Day marketing splurge is a really good idea too. It can be really refreshing and break through all the Valentine’s Day noise for the ‘single ‘ shopper to see small businesses are offering solutions just for them.

Sending an email about self care or self love with all your product offerings would be perfect. People may not be buying themselves huge extravagant gifts in 2023, but they may be buying themselves small pick me ups – hot chocolate, a candle, cosy socks – let them know despite the challenges of 2023 they are with the treat.

5.Obvious but fun!

The fifth reason that somebody might buy it from you on Valentine’s Day is just because it’s cute and fun! So if you stock anything heart shaped or remotely ‘love’ themed make sure you are telling customers you are the small business to buy from. From heart cookie cutters to lip shaped clutch bags, from heart shaped ice cubes to an I Love You keyring – these products sell.

Again, think broad – does your small business sell crafting kits? Someone’s valentine may be a keen crafter or it’s just a lovely idea for a parent or grandparent to buy the children in the family.

6. Do not forget the pets!

People LOVE their pets and it’s showing – this is the one of the fastest growing areas for the Valentine’s Day retail market – gifts for pets. You don’t have to be a pet shop to cater for pets on Valentine’s Day (but if you are go big!). Lots of small businesses stock items for pets so just make sure you are reminding your customer their pet would love something new for Valentine’s Day. People will buy a card for their pet and not stop there – a card for their partner or friend about their pet. I can’t stress this enough – at your peril be it if you forget the pets!

Remember February can be a tough month for so many people so any small businesses joining the Valentine’s Day fun in a way that meets their customer’s needs will make sales. It could be about kids, parents, crafting, animals, friends, as well as the more traditional romantic notion of Valentine’s Day – broaden the scope.

So they are my 6 seductive reasons people will buy from you this Valentine’s Day. 2032 is going to be a challenging year for small business owners but if you plan exactly how you will maximise all selling opportunities in a way that meets your customer’s needs – you will make sales!