As Tet (Vietnamese New Year) approaches, the Valentine's Day gift market is less vibrant.

The gift market is diverse.

This year's Valentine's Day gift market is characterized by a wide variety of types, designs, and price segments, catering to diverse consumer needs. Fresh flowers, a familiar symbol of Valentine's Day, continue to play a dominant role in stores. Traditional and imported roses are available at various price points, from affordable to high-end. The price of roses on Valentine's Day is higher than usual, ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 VND per stem, depending on type and size. Besides domestic roses, many stores also import varieties such as Da Lat roses and Ecuadorian roses, targeting customers seeking luxurious and sophisticated gifts.

Alongside fresh flowers, chocolate continues to be a popular item due to its convenience and symbolic meaning. The market offers many chocolate lines specifically designed for Valentine's Day, featuring poems, love quotes, and ranging in price from 95,000 to 300,000 VND per box. Many bakeries also create fresh chocolate products, shaped like hearts or stars, or engraved with custom messages. These products are priced from 7,000 to 10,000 VND per piece, suitable for younger customers or those who want to convey a message of love through small, delicate gifts.

Ms. Ha Phuong, owner of a pastry shop on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, said that this year's Valentine's Day chocolate products are more elaborate in terms of design and personalization. "Customers often prefer designs that can be engraved with names or personalized messages. Because it's fresh chocolate, I take pre-orders and make them close to the delivery date to ensure quality," Ms. Phuong shared.

Besides flowers and chocolate, the Valentine's Day market also features many other gift items such as teddy bears, pillows, couple's outfits, cosmetics, perfumes, and jewelry. At supermarkets and specialty stores, pre-designed Valentine's Day gift combos are available at various price points, along with promotions and complimentary gifts. In recent years, the trend of choosing practical gifts with long-lasting value has continued and become increasingly prominent during holidays, including Valentine's Day.

Instead of purely symbolic gifts, many people prioritize products that can be used daily, related to self-care and beauty needs. Cosmetics and jewelry have therefore become two more sought-after product categories, satisfying both aesthetic appeal and demonstrating the thoughtfulness and sophistication of the giver. Capitalizing on this trend, many stores have designed pre-made Valentine's Day gift sets in combo formats, offering a variety of price points, luxurious packaging, and accompanying discounts or gifts, making it easy for buyers to choose the perfect gift for their loved ones on Valentine's Day.

Consumer demand is weak as Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches.

In contrast to the abundance of goods, purchasing power in this year's Valentine's Day market is quite sluggish. Many shop owners say that the number of customers has decreased significantly, with some days having almost no customers. The main reason is that Valentine's Day coincides with the peak period of Tet (Lunar New Year) preparations. People are busy cleaning their houses, shopping for Tet, arranging work, and returning to their hometowns to reunite with their families, so they don't have much time or energy left to choose Valentine's Day gifts. Ms. Phung Ngoc Anh, owner of a flower and souvenir shop on Pham Kinh Vy Street (Truong Vinh Ward), shared: "Business on Valentine's Day this year is much worse than in previous years. Our main customers, students, have almost all gone home. Knowing the situation beforehand, I also imported less goods to avoid excess inventory."

The streets are busier than usual in the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), but there are only a few customers buying flowers and gifts for Valentine's Day, mostly people shopping for the holiday. Nguyen Doanh Nhan, the owner of a flower shop on Phan Dinh Phung Street, Thanh Vinh Ward, said that although he imported nearly 1,000 roses from Da Lat and Ecuador to serve Valentine's Day, sales are very limited. "Every year at this time, there are a lot of customers, but this year I sit all day and no one asks. With Tet approaching, everyone is busy, so Valentine's Day is no longer a priority," Nhan said.

Not only fresh flowers, but other gift items such as chocolate, teddy bears, souvenirs, and cosmetics are also experiencing sluggish sales. Ms. Tran Hong Nhung, owner of a cosmetics store on Nguyen Phong Sac Street, said that this year she proactively imported less stock due to concerns about weak purchasing power. "So far, I've only sold a few dozen orders, whereas in previous years at this time, the stock was almost sold out. The difficult economic situation combined with Tet (Lunar New Year) means consumers are tightening their spending," Ms. Nhung shared.

Besides the time factor, changes in consumer habits also affect the Valentine's Day market. The trend of buying gifts online, ordering through the internet, or even giving money via bank transfer has made direct shopping at traditional stores less vibrant. Many couples choose to spend time together on spring trips at the beginning of the year, instead of giving gifts on February 14th.

Valentine's Day 2026, as seen in the Lunar New Year celebrations, took on a unique character. While the gift market remained diverse and abundant, purchasing power fell short of expectations. This clearly reflects a shift in consumer behavior, as people tended to adjust their spending priorities, allocating more resources to essential needs during the Lunar New Year and opting for simpler, more flexible ways to express affection. Therefore, Valentine's Day no longer generated the same strong shopping frenzy as before, but rather demonstrated a change in consumer approach to the interplay of major holidays throughout the year.