Valentine’s Day is here, and just as it’s a day for couples to celebrate their love for one another, it’s also a day for businesses to cash out on some serious profit! Whether you’re a petrol station owner, a travel agency or even a restaurateur, don’t miss the opportunity to maximize your earnings and win your customer’s heart!
Photo: Harryarts
#Romantic Getaways
Valentine’s is becoming one of Malaysia’s favorite shopping holidays with couples splashing out just to win the hearts of their loved ones. Men especially spend more than women on Valentine’s day with many choosing romantic getaways as the perfect Valentine’s gift. According to a study, spending on travel via plane, car or train during the Valentine’s period has increased by 49% since 2016. So, as a business, you might want to think about how best to maximize the day with a 2 for 1 romantic travel package.
#Last-minute Planners
Let’s face it, there’s never enough time to plan for anything these days. According to Google’s 2019 internal data, searches for Valentine’s Day increased fivefold one week before the holiday and peaked on Valentine’s Day. In fact, 28% of Valentine’s Day purchases happen on the day itself! So, remind your customers to prepare early and ramp up your discount offers close to February 14 as lovers everywhere are frantically searching for last-minute gifts!
#The Perfect Gift
The perfect gift to describe your partner may not exist but some gifts can still melt their hearts away. Malaysians generally prefer traditional Valentine’s Day gifts with Google revealing that the top generic searches include jewelry, perfume, wine, and flowers. Despite the convenience of online shopping, Malaysians prefer to make more of an effort by going to the stores themselves to get the present. Navigations to flower shops rose 470% while navigations to jewelry stores grew 25% compared to a typical day.
With a lot of Valentine’s gifts on the market, steer Malaysians away from the typical presents by positioning your products or services as the unique and ideal Valentine’s Day gift perfect for their loved ones.
#Food Is The Way To The Heart
There’s no denying that food is certainly the language of love in Malaysia. Hence, it’s no surprise that navigations to food locations grew significantly on February 14 compared to an average day: a 35% increase for bars, 30% for restaurants and 25% for fast food joints. This is a perfect time for the food and beverage business to seduce their customers with seasonal menu items that customers won’t be able to resist.
#Mall Dates
What screams quality time more than spending a day at the mall? In 2019, 17.9% of navigations during the Valentine’s Day weekend were made to shopping malls. With a variety of shops, restaurants and entertainment options all under one roof, there’s plenty of things couples can do on their date! Business owners situated in malls can certainly rake up the benefits with special Valentine’s Day promotions that will surely drive the crowd into their stores!
#Cash Out
As Malaysians love to spend lavishly on Valentine’s Day, trips to banks and ATMs would surely increase. Trips to banks and ATMs made up 14.9% of total navigations during Valentine’s Day weekend last year. So, if your store is situated next to these cash points, make sure to dress up your store nicely to attract more customers!
#Fuel up!
With couples going on romantic getaways or date nights, many will stop at petrol stations to fuel up. In 2019, 22.7% of total navigations were made to gas stations during the Valentine’s Day weekend, making it the top destination overall. So, get that discount poster up and turn these pit stops into opportunities for your brand with attractive deals!
If you’re a couple or a solo business owner, there’s certainly something for everyone this Valentine’s Day!
By: Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
