Young Indians are celebrating 'Valentine's Week' by buying record numbers of roses, chocolates and gift baskets. The week before Valentine's Day on February 14 is becoming increasingly popular in India. February 7 is known as Rose Day, 9 and 10 are Chocolate Day and Teddy Bear Day respectively, while the remaining days of the week are dedicated to promises or hugs. E-commerce platforms and dating websites are taking advantage of the situation to promote these romantic products.
New Delhi-based Indian gift platform FNPERetail Pvt. The platform said via email that ahead of Valentine's Day, the platform was sending out a record 350 roses per minute. Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of Blinkit, a company owned by the food delivery platform Zomato, posted on X that the company delivered 406 chocolate bars every minute on February 9.
India's growing middle class, especially young people, are spending big bucks at retail outlets, luxury restaurants and cafes, and the surge in spending related to Valentine's Day is one aspect of this. Market research firm Mintel's 2023 Consumer Spending Focus Report shows that about half of Indian consumers choose to spend money to obtain "experiences" rather than products that are actually useful.