- Why Valentine’s Day is a high-intent moment
- What People Buy & What That Means for Targeting
- Valentine’s Day Audience Segments
- Need something more specific?
- Why OnAudience for Valentine’s Day campaigns
- FAQ
Valentine’s Day turns love whether it’s a new romance, a long-term relationship, or close friendship into action. People want to show they care, so they look for something meaningful: a gift, a dinner, a trip, or a small surprise that feels personal.
And they move fast. Shoppers research, compare, and buy within a short window. That’s why broad “interest” targeting can waste spend: it reaches people who might care, but not necessarily those who are actively shopping right now. High-intent audience data helps you focus budgets on the moments that actually convert.
Better Valentine’s Day Performance Starts with Audience Data
Summary:
- U.S. consumers were expected to spend $27.5B for Valentine’s Day (record level), averaging $188.81 per person.
- The most common gift categories include candy, flowers, greeting cards, an evening out, and jewelry.
- Nearly half of Valentine’s spending can happen in the last 3–4 days (Feb 11–14), meaning recency matters.
- OnAudience helps agencies, brands and marketers reach key target audiences with Valentine’s Day audience segments and create custom segments with AI Audiences when you need something specific.
Why Valentine’s Day is a high-intent moment
Valentine’s Day demand is predictable, but who is ready to buy changes in the last 3-4 days:
- Early planners browse gift guides and compare options.
- Mid-window shoppers narrow choices (price, shipping, store availability).
- Last-minute buyers switch to same-day delivery, local retail, restaurants, and food delivery.
That’s why the best-performing campaigns don’t target “people who like romance.” They target people showing fresh intent signals (researching flowers, booking dinner, browsing jewelry, downloading dating apps, etc.).
Turn Valentine’s Intent Into Conversions
What People Buy & What That Means for Targeting
NRF’s 2025 survey shows the most common gift categories were: candy (56%), flowers (40%), greeting cards (40%), an evening out (35%), and jewelry (22%).
And in total dollars, NRF reported Americans planned to spend:
- $6.5B on jewelry
- $5.4B on an evening out
- $2.9B on flowers
- $2.5B on candy
- $1.4B on greeting cards
And timing is brutal: a large share of purchases happen right before Feb 14, which rewards data built on recency and frequency signals.
Mobile behavior also spikes around the holiday especially for dating apps, social apps, and food & drink apps in the days immediately before Valentine’s Day.
Who people buy for
Valentine’s Day has expanded beyond “just romantic,” and the spending reflects that. In 2025, NRF projected:
- $14.6B spent on significant others (a new record)
- $4.3B on family members
- Participation at record/high levels for: friends (32%) and co-workers (19%), with pets also at 32%.
Where people shop
Online remains the top destination:
- online (38%),
- department stores (34%),
- discount stores (29%),
- florists and specialty stores (18% each).
Make Valentine’s Targeting More Precise
Valentine’s Day Audience Segments
1) Classic gifting buyers
Best for: retailers, marketplaces, CPG, last-mile delivery
- Flowers & bouquets intenders (delivery + local pickup behavior)
- Chocolate & candy intenders
- Greeting cards & personalized messages
- Gift bundles & “Valentine’s gift ideas” content consumers
2) Jewelry & premium gifting
Best for: jewelry, luxury, premium accessories
- Jewelry intenders (rings/necklaces/bracelets, comparison behavior)
- Luxury shoppers (premium brands, high-end retail content)
- Watches & accessories
- Fragrance & premium beauty
Evening out and experiences
Best for: restaurants, ticketing, hospitality, local experiences
- Dining & reservations intenders
- Local experiences (theater, events, tastings, spas)
- Weekend getaway planners (hotel browsing, travel research)
Beauty, self-care, “treat yourself” (not only couples)
Best for: beauty retail, wellness, subscription boxes
- Skincare & makeup intenders
- Spa & wellness planners
- At-home self-care (candles, bath, “self-love” content)
- Gift sets & beauty bundles
Fashion & lingerie (fit + last-minute friendly)
Best for: fashion retail, premium basics, lingerie, accessories
- Women’s/men’s fashion intenders
- Lingerie & sleepwear shoppers
- Accessories (handbags, small leather goods)
Dating & social intent
Best for: dating apps, social apps, events, gifting for new relationships
Data shows Valentine’s period can lift installs and engagement for dating/social apps.
- Dating app joiners / active users
- Singles nightlife & events planners
- Social sharing / content engagers (Valentine’s posts, planning content)
Need something more specific?
You can Build custom Valentine’s audiences from a brief with OnAudience AI Audience Builder.
Seasonal campaigns often require combinations like:
- “Flower delivery intenders + gift card shoppers + last-minute buyers”
- “Jewelry researchers + luxury shoppers + premium CTV viewers”
- “Restaurant reservation intenders + couples getaway planners”
OnAudience supports custom segment creation via AI Audiences and programmatic activation workflows.
Need a Custom Valentine’s Day Audience?
Why OnAudience for Valentine’s Day campaigns
If you’re running programmatic campaigns in a DSP, you need audience data that’s built for speed, precision, and safe activation during a short seasonal window.
- Funnel ready Valentine’s intent segments
OnAudience helps you match targeting to the Valentine’s timeline, moving from inspiration audiences early on to high intent and last minute buyers closer to Feb 14, so you don’t waste spend on users who are no longer in market. - Global reach across 200+ markets
Ideal for agencies, brands, and marketers who need international scale. Activate Valentine’s intent across countries and adapt messaging to local demand, delivery cutoffs, and shopping behaviors. - Privacy safe and compliance aligned
OnAudience prioritizes responsible data use with GDPR and CCPA aligned processing. As an IAB TCF partner, we collect user consents and respect Do Not Track signals and opt outs to support privacy safe activation. - Data scale that expands reach and precision
OnAudience goes beyond typical seasonal datasets with signals from 25B+ devices and 50B+ profiles, plus 3,900+ segments across categories, including dedicated Valentine’s Day audiences, so you can plan with more reach and more granularity. - Cross device reach built in
Designed for campaigns running across desktop, mobile, CTV, and DOOH, OnAudience supports cross device activation so you can reach the same high intent audience wherever they browse, stream, and convert. - In house technology for transparency and control
Because segments are built and maintained with proprietary technology, you get more flexibility in how audiences are created, refreshed, and optimized, supporting more reliable performance over time.
Plus: AI Audiences for custom Valentine’s segments in seconds
Need something specific, like last minute delivery shoppers or premium gifters researching jewelry and fragrance? Turn a short brief into a tailored, activation ready audience fast with the AI Driven Audience Builder.
FAQ
When should we launch Valentine’s campaigns?
Start early enough to catch planners, then shift budget toward conversion audiences as Feb 14 approaches — especially in the final days when buying peaks.
What’s the biggest lever for performance?
Recency-based intent audiences flowers, jewelry, dining, last-minute delivery outperform broad “interest” pools during short seasonal windows.
Can we build a custom Valentine’s audience instead of using standard segments?
Yes — OnAudience supports custom audience creation via AI Audiences for highly specific briefs.
Boost Valentine’s Day Campaigns with the Right Data
