As we’re getting well into February, it’s the month of love, and shoppers might be looking for gifts online, or changing their spending habits. What current trends are we seeing in online retail, and what can we expect to see in ecommerce on Valentine’s day?
As of January 2022, IMRG’s digital dashboard showed that the Gifts category was down -19.4%. The category itself hasn’t been performing particularly well since the pandemic, as it’s thought that customers are now focusing more on experiences than gifts themselves. The pandemic has shifted their thinking, so that they might be prioritizing going places, and seeing things, as opposed to physical items. However, as of the 30th January, WoW growth for Gifts went up +7.7%, perhaps showing a slight increase in gift spend as we approach V-Day itself.
However, the clothing category is seeing some good growth, us 5.4%, so perhaps this is where the spend might be seen over Valentine’s day. Happy couples might buy each other outfits, or look to purchase outfits for themselves for dinners and date nights out.
The other two components of a date night aren’t doing so well, with Lingerie and Beers, Wine and Spirits, showing a negative YoY growth rate. Although the graph shows extreme negative growth, it’s important to remember that this is against the growth rates of 2021, when the UK lockdowns were in place, and therefore shoppers had no choice but to buy online, therefore causing a boom in ecommerce. 2022 growth rates aren’t actually as bad as they may first seem, and we can’t say for sure where the Valentine’s day spend will lie.
YoY Category Revenue Growth
(Source: IMRG Digital Dashboard)
Overall, we can expect to see a slight uplift in the Gifts category over Valentine’s day, and perhaps even more spend in clothing, as this seems to be an area that’s recovering at the moment.