The Business Of Love on Q-Commerce

Valentine Day was especially a good for quick commerce companies who made gifting convenient for consumers by tweaking their inventory to meet the surge in demand and offering under 30 minutes delivery

- Sanya Arora

In 2015, approximately Indians spent ₹22,000 crore on Valentine's Day, as per ASSOCHAM data. Valentine's day has grown manifolds since then as a celebration in the country and even as a business. Although, the pandemic had put a dent in consumption, the good news is that consumption and spending has picked up in the last year that had a positive impact on Valentine's Day business.

Consumer sentiment has improved since the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced various IT related decisions in the Budget 2023 that put more money in the hands of the consumers. Buoyed by the prospect, people are now willing to spend on non-essentials, entertainment, and other nondiscretionary items as is evident by the box office collection of Pathaan which grossed approximately ₹239 crore amount in 7 days of its launch.

The spending trend continues in gifting as well and is the reason why valentine's day 2023 was one of the best for most companies in the business. It was especially a good Valentine's week season for quick commerce companies who made gifting convenient for consumers by tweaking their inventory to meet the Valentine's Day surge in demand and offering under 30 minutes delivery.

The Expectations

Q-commerce player Blinkit had expected a surge in demand of at least 20% said a spokesperson from Blinkit. Dunzo expected the demand for most categories to increase by 50% over the weekend leading to the Valentine's Day most categories and certain categories by 40% closer to Valentine's Day shared Mrunmayi Oke, Head- Category and growth, Dunzo. She added that Dunzo expected chocolates and desserts to receive maximum traction. Another player in the category Swiggy Instamart expected a 4x jump in orders this year with Taj Mahal roses leading the demand.