Advertiser News Services
Where have all the flowers gone?
Gone to big business, every one. That goes for cards and candy, too.
From matching red cell phones to ruby-and-diamond heart pendants to restaurants requiring $150 deposits for reservations, Valentine’s Day has become a strange hybrid of a holiday, third only to Christmas and Mother’s Day in dollars spent for gifts.
While Valentine cards rank in the "that’s nice" category — 1 billion are exchanged yearly — gifts remain the goal, with champagne, flowers, jewelry and chocolates ranking highest in sales.
Last V-Day, 110 million roses were sold, says the Floral Index in Chicago. It’s the biggest boxed-chocolate holiday: $1.2 billion of the sweets will be sold for Feb. 14, the American Boxed Chocolate Manufacturers Association projects.
"Valentine’s Day is still not considered one of the biggest retail holidays yet, but that’s changing because of the assortment of things out there," said Sara Scheuer, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation.
And retailers are utilizing every marketing ploy.
The New Orleans Ritz-Carlton offers "Valentine’s Romantic Rendezvous," for $2,500 a couple. It includes personalized fragrances, eveningwear, a magnolia bath, and a private seven-course dinner.
If you want to give flowers, gifts.com suggests that one bunch may not be enough: "100 red roses, the ultimate Valentine" goes for $199. At Calyx & Corolla, you can order a year’s worth. Cost: $595 for roses delivered monthly.
Since 12 percent of couples get engaged on Valentine’s Day, personalized gifts — especially fine jewelry — are hot sellers. Cartier’s Tank Basculante watch ($2,400 to $4,400) features a a pivoting face that, when flipped over, reveals the engraved words, "Marry me?" Or, more subtly, there’s the $1,095 ruby-and-diamond heart pendant at Bailey Banks & Biddle.
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