10 ways to boost Valentine’s Day sales

Is Valentine’s Day an afterthought in your store? Just a time to put a few hearts and products in red and pink packaging in the window?

If so, you could be missing a trick. While we all know Christmas is by far the most important occasion for upselling (with a reported 80% of shoppers upping their spend at this time of year), it’s February 14 that comes in at a close second in retail, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the charge on spending.

GlobalData’s research backs this up, revealing that 69.3% of 25 to 34-year-olds intend to splash cash on their Valentine in 2025, making them a vital, core audience for speciality retailers over the next couple of weeks.

The fact that food and drink have the highest intention to buy for gifting ups the retail ante.

Mintel reported a strong growth in Valentine’s Day-related sales last year, and the analyst thinks 2025 will follow suit, building on an estimated spend of £2.1 billion in 2024. 

As well as appealing to couples, Mintel says retailers should try to tap into the accelerated interest in Galentine’s Day and Single’s Awareness Day, reaching out to customers who might be alone on February 14, but who want to take the day to treat themselves with a bit of pampering, a luxurious at-home meal, or elevated version of a product they normally buy – such as more expensive wine, better quality chocolate, or a premium ready meal. 

Mintel’s data in 2024 showed 62% of under 34s bought something to indulge themselves for Valentine’s Day. 

10 ways to make Valentine’s Day a success this year

1. Dining in is huge. And as there’s a perception (often rightly so) of inflated prices on Valentine’s Day in restaurant settings, it’s highly likely more people will stay at home to celebrate this year. Don’t miss the opportunity to upsell your own in-store made dining solutions (sharing dishes such as pies are a good place to start) and themed baked goods shoppers can grab to go. Also make a point of promoting any premium ready meal lines you stock. Farmyard Frozen is a good option. Not only is the brand’s packaging pretty in pink, but it specialises in products designed for two to share, such as chef-made beef Wellingtons.

2. Get your hampers out. Got leftover boxes and hampers in stock from Christmas? There’s a fantastic opportunity here to group together some of your prettiest, most romantic products ready for gifting. If you’re a farm shop with a trail on site, how about promoting Valentine’s picnic hampers to enjoy on the day?

3. Get sampling with higher value items you think your customer base will enjoy for Valentine’s Day, bringing in makers if possible to share their stories. Think chocolate, sparkling wine and charcuterie. Around three quarters of people who sample usually buy.

4. Grazing boards are popular for all occasions, and present themselves as one of the ultimate ‘lazy’ Valentine’s suppers. It’s a nice time to put a push on heart-shaped truckles and individual cheeses from the likes of Godminster and Fen Farm Dairy, or one of France’s most historic varieties, Neufchatel.

5. Speaking of cheese, fondue is a romantic option for Valentine’s Day – especially as tradition dictates you have to kiss the person to your left if you accidentally drop your bread. If you’ve got the facilities, set up a fondue station in store for customers to try, with a printed recipe, and direct them to the cheese counter. Have to hand lots of dunking goodies to upsell, from bread to gherkins and mini snacking salamis.

6. Steak sales were up 12% around Valentine’s Day in 2024, says Kantar. Quick to cook and easy embellished with a fancy flavoured butter or sachet of sauce, some vegetables and chips, steak is a go-to dinner for many on February 14. Make sure your butchery counter is prepared with a decent amount of stock, and it’s helpful to have steaks cut up and priced ready to go to take out uncertainty for the customer – who might be shy to ask how much it will be for X amount of sirloin. You might want to section off a bit of the counter for compound butters, sauces and relishes that work perfectly with steak.

7. Cocktail-making and consuming is big on special occasions. Point shoppers to your canned and bottled pre-mixed ranges, and if you have space, get members of the team to shake up and serve mini Valentine’s Day themed cocktails in store, with recipe cards.

8. Store cards can be the gift that keeps on giving. A device that some say works is creating set ‘happy hours’ with offers for certain products. It may be that you promote a discount on specific chocolates, wines and other food and drink between, say, 4pm and 5pm during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Ensure you promote this well to card holders through digital newsletters, social media and signage.

9. Take a tongue-in-cheek approach for the younger crowd, backed up by fun marketing on socials. This could include creating a pop-up aphrodisiac area during the early part of February promoting love-inducing products such as tinned shellfish, chocolate, spicy condiments and red wine.

10. Galentine’s Day is on the rise and really could help you clinch extra sales. The great thing is, it’s often a spur of the moment thing, so presents itself as an ideal last minute marketing opportunity. How about a Galentine’s brunch, cocktail-making or craft session, or afternoon tea?