So long, February. Hello, March! As we trade in red hearts and roses for shamrocks and clovers, one thing becomes immediately clear: Valentine’s Day is past. So with Cupid’s holiday in the rear view… was it everything you hoped it would be? We sure hope so!

Query trends show that boyfriends/girlfriends and husbands/wives were much more thoughtful this year than last. In the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, searches for flowers, gifts and greetings were up more than 30% over 2010. Following on the heels of a very successful holiday season, the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day were anticipated to be bigger online than ever before. And while the impact on search activity was certainly sizeable, what really stands out is the explosive query growth that occurred on the actual day, itself.

Now, could we assume that our loved ones were really just super thoughtful this year? Perhaps. But it’s more likely that the search surge was due to circumstance, not love sickness. The key difference this year: Valentine’s Day fell on a Monday instead of a Sunday. So, while some couples may’ve spent last year’s holiday joined at the hip, many spent this year’s V-Day glued to their work computers. And what better way to postpone the Monday morning monotony than with animated e-cards and love poems?

Although it may seem a little less romantic, loved ones (and e-tailers) stood to benefit from the Monday holiday. Searches for cards and greetings were up nearly 200% over last year.
















 



Source: Google Internal Data

Similarly, searches for flowers and gifts were up 230% and 130%, respectively. And while some of the boyfriends/husbands out there made sure to plan ahead, the procrastinators flocked to search engines in spades. Queries for “same day flower delivery” spiked significantly on February 14th. And with same-day delivery more plausible this year, online florists rose to the occasion to make the most of Valentine’s Day eCommerce sales.




















Amidst the flurry of candy, cards, and bouquets – both real and virtual, we hope Valentine’s Day Monday was good to you. And if not, well, there’s always next year…


Posted by Becky Chilowicz, The Google Retail Team