Whether you’re a pre-planner, or a last minute forgot-the-date kind of person, there’s a good chance Valentine’s Day means a special trip to the supermarket.
Foodstuffs reveals some of our shopping habits as we approach the day of love and those who err on the more traditional side, here’s how we show our nearest and dearest how we feel:
- Last year 30,000 people said it with flowers, as sales for bunches picked up in the week of Valentine’s Day and nearly half (45%) of those being sold on the day of love itself. That equates to a 226% increase in flower sales on February 14th in Foodstuffs stores.
- If chocolate is the universal language of love, then Kiwis speak it fluently as boxed chocolates skyrocket on Valentine’s Day, with Cadbury Roses one of the popular choices jumping 380% up in sales compared to the week prior, giving them the highest percentage lift in chocolates on Valentine’s Day.
- Sales of popular bubbles peak at the weekend before Valentines with the Friday sales sitting 57% above those on the actual day.
For more optimistic among us who plan ahead for a Valentine’s Day present of their own:
- Kiwis are regular condom buyers throughout the year but sales, and optimism peaks the week ahead of the 14th with North Islanders buying 30% more condoms in Valentine’s week compared to the average weekly sales.
- Another item that sees a popularity spike in February is personal lubricant with sales increasing by a massive 61% in the week of Valentine’s compared to the average weekly sales. However, it’s not just February, the other popular time of year appears to be December with a 22% increase in sales which may be why September through to November is our most popular birthday months.*
Chris Day, Head of Customer Insights, and Intelligence says the trends make a lot of sense when you think about the days of the week that Valentines falls on.
“Last year, it was a Monday and this year it’s a Tuesday, and those aren’t traditionally your most ‘sexy’ days of the week, so things like bubbles and personal lubricant may not actually hit their peak on the day itself. But short-term things like fresh beautiful flowers arranged in-store daily, are always best picked up as close to the day as possible.”
“We know many Kiwis will look to celebrate at home this year to save money, so some might throw together a nice meal with a few gourmet ingredients or grab a New World and Pakn’Save meal kit, so we will have plenty of these types of items available.”
“We’re continually evaluating Kiwi’s shopping habits to ensure that we’re here for New Zealanders ahead of days like Valentine’s Day. You don’t want to turn up to that date without those chocolates or bubbles, so we work hard to make sure we’ve got the right products available at the right times to celebrate those special moments.”
* https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/most-common-birthday-in-new-zealand/
