Valentine’s Day is A Commercial Day

Like most lovers

Valentine’s day is today February 14 if you forgot. This day is set for people to express their love to each other. I believe that valentine’s day is a commercial day and has been marketed very well to make us feel guilty for not buying something valuable to express our love to our loved ones.
Valentine’s day is named after a priest who lived in Rome around AD 269. The occasion became more popular in 1800 when British printers started producing decorated cards that have paper ribbons and lace.  People started mailing each other such cards and the occasion grow up with popularity since that date. This how it was back then but now, you have to buy gifts, flowers or chocolate. A combination of all these gifts will get you closer to your loved one. The more you buy the better they will feel. That is how Valentine’s day is sold to us. But we do not need to show our love only on that day and does not have to be through gifts.

Getting ready

I will now discuss the commercial side of Valentine’s day. The day is marketed very well by printing calendars with a reminder that February 14 is Valentine’s day. Just before that day, the companies (especially brand names) need to remained us of their existence. No more marketing is needed because we are sold on the idea. I think the reminder is actually meant for the gift-receiver to expect the gift from the giver. A survey conducted this year in Bahrain estimated that 30% of the population would spend $180 (KD 52) for Valentine’s Day gifts. A quick calculation resulted in $40 million will be spent this year on Valentine’s Day in Bahrain. Please note that this survey was done in Bahrain, an Arab country that did not hear about Valentine’s Day until recently.

Be My Valentine

Most of the gifts has short shelve time, meaning that the store can not store them for the next year similar to unsold water heaters and blankets when the winter season end. So it is more economical to prepare the gifts just one week before the set date and sell them on that day. Commercially, Valentine’s day has another advantage which is storage space. The stores order large quantities of their merchandise and sell them all in 1 – 2 days. No storage needed to stock delicate products like flowers and chocolate around the year in large quantities. The store need to hold the smallest quantity always. So the business formula is to market the date, pre-order the products, sell them all in one day to enjoy quick profit. Now if I try to convince my wife on the above logic she would think that I am cheap!