Google’s Alison Lomax offers brands some timely advice on how to win the hearts of last-minute Valentine’s Day shoppers.
Valentine’s Day is more than just an excuse to exchange and consume vast quantities of chocolate. For brands, it’s an ideal opportunity to increase sales and engage with customers.
Many shoppers are still undecided on what to buy their darlings in advance of the big day, and it’s good news for advertisers – especially on mobile, where being present on the consumer path to purchase offers the opportunity to influence orders up to the final hour.
And last-minute shopping is proving popular around Valentine’s Day. Easier online ordering and faster delivery times are helping forgetful people and passionate procrastinators come out looking like smooth operators. Those paramours who are poor advance planners are increasingly making use of mobile to find and buy last-minute gifts. In the UK, there’s been a year-on-year increase of 41 per cent in “last minute valentine’s gift” searches overall, and 74 per cent year-on-year growth on smartphone.
Consumers are indeed increasingly searching on mobile and buying on the go: according to our data, Valentine’s related queries on smartphone showed a 36 per cent year-on-year rise between 2013 and 2014.
Marketing to last-minute lovers: Advice from Google on maximising Valentine’s Day sales
