Valentine's Day gifts are diverse, but sales are not high.
(Baonghean.vn) - Although the market offers a wide variety of Valentine's Day gifts at reasonable prices, sales have been quite sluggish, with reduced purchasing power.
Focusing solely on Valentine's Day gifts, this year, Ms. Bui Khanh Nhu (Bui Huy Oanh Street, Vinh City) invested over 30 million VND to import various types of chocolates, teddy bears, and artificial flowers for sale. However, as of February 13th, she has only sold less than half of the imported goods.
"I've been selling Valentine's Day merchandise for five seasons, but none have been as slow as this year. I imported the goods and listed them for sale before Tet (Lunar New Year), but so far I've only sold less than 20 million VND worth. Things like artificial flowers and teddy bears can be sold on March 8th, October 10th, or other holidays, but chocolate is a complete loss," Ms. Nhu said.
Not only chocolate shops but also flower shops in Vinh City are quite deserted. The reason is that Valentine's Day this year coincides with the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, and most people are returning to their hometowns for the holiday or going on spring excursions, so the holiday has been "forgotten". On the other hand, because people just bought flowers for Tet, many families still have plenty of fresh flowers. Only a few people are buying roses to give to their girlfriends or wives.
Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huong, owner of a flower shop on Nguyen Van Cu Street (Vinh City), said: “Having years of experience in the flower business and anticipating the market, I only import a small quantity of Da Lat roses, limiting imported roses. Roses aren't too expensive during this holiday season, but there are hardly any beautiful ones. The number of customers is also low, mainly individual customers buying bouquets or single roses, so revenue has decreased by 70% compared to last year's holiday season.”
Other gift items such as fashion, shoes, and cosmetics are also experiencing a lull in sales. This is because people have just gone through a rather expensive Tet shopping spree, and with the economy being difficult this year, fewer people are choosing luxury gifts like expensive perfumes and cosmetics.
On the other hand, this year's Valentine's Day coincided with the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, a time when people were busy arranging their work and returning to the city after the holiday, so it wasn't given much attention... In addition, many people combined giving gifts to their significant other with Lunar New Year gifts, so there were no longer separate gifts being bought on this day. This also significantly reduced the revenue of businesses selling gifts.
However, gold jewelry such as necklaces and couple rings are selling quite well this year. Ms. Pham Hoai My Kim, owner of a jewelry shop in Dien Chau town, said: “Usually in previous years, the shop opened on the 6th day of Tet, but this year, anticipating Valentine's Day, we opened on the 3rd day of Tet. In the past two days, the shop has sold many couple rings, heart-shaped necklaces, engraved rings… to young married couples and couples in love.”
Currently, the trend of giving souvenirs as Valentine's Day gifts is declining. Instead, people tend to give their significant others gifts that match their interests and are highly practical, such as clothes, perfume, skincare vouchers, jewelry, or travel packages. As a result, the market for souvenir gifts like stuffed animals and artificial flowers is becoming increasingly sluggish.
According to experienced business people, Valentine's Day often coincides with or is close to Lunar New Year and International Women's Day, so gift-giving is not given as much attention. On the other hand, the gift market is increasingly diverse and abundant. Everyone has many choices when looking for gifts for their significant other on Valentine's Day.
Therefore, traditional gifts like artificial flowers and stuffed animals no longer attract much attention. So, before importing goods, consider carefully, import a small quantity to test the market, and order more if sales are good. Avoid importing large quantities, especially items that only sell well during Valentine's Day and are quite expensive, such as chocolate; only import them if there are pre-orders or prior market research.
