Ecommerce, gifting firms unwrap 60% growth ahead of Valentine's Day

Demand for premium products, faster deliveries and aggressive promotions help platforms

Ecommerce and gifting platforms are seeing a 60 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) surge ahead of Valentine’s Day, as shoppers splurge on flowers, chocolates, personalised merchandise and experiential gifts.

 

Industry executives said the growth is the result of digital platforms, quick deliveries in Tier-II and -III cities, demand for premium products, and aggressive promotional campaigns.

 

“This season, we have witnessed a 58 per cent Y-o-Y spike across Valentine-relevant categories, alongside a significant 44 per cent growth in customers, underlining strong engagement as well as new customer participation,” said Pratik Shetty, vice-president of growth and marketing at Flipkart.

 

He said there is clear demand for indulgence-led and gifting categories, with cakes and pastries recording a 7.7-times spike in units, savouries and namkeens growing 6.6 times, cookies and biscuits up 6.5 times, chocolates at six times, and beauty products such as highlighters seeing a 2.7-times increase.

   

Saurabh Srivastava, vice-president at Amazon India, said demand for premium products is increasing on the platform. “As Valentine’s Day continues to evolve into one of the most significant gifting moments of the year, we are seeing strong momentum across categories like chocolates, fresh flowers, fragrances, jewellery, beauty, fashion, electronics and gift cards,” he said. “This reflects the growing enthusiasm among customers for celebrating special occasions, with an increasing preference for premium and curated gifting options.”

 

An analysis of data from Unicommerce, a software-as-a-service platform, showed that more than 15 million order items were processed across quick commerce platforms, marketplaces and brand websites between February 1 and 10. While ecommerce volumes grew by about 17 per cent compared to the same period in 2025, order volumes on quick commerce platforms surged 48 per cent.

 

A spokesperson for quick commerce platform Swiggy Instamart said, “We’ve seen a massive surge in Valentine’s gifting this year, with key categories like jewellery, greeting cards and plush toys growing up to 10 times Y-o-Y, showcasing a clear shift towards premiumisation and curated hampers. Notably, the sexual wellness category has more than tripled.”

 

The data from Unicommerce added that direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand websites saw a nearly 16 per cent rise in order volumes.

 

Avi Kumar, chief marketing officer at gifting platform FNP, said, “In the run-up to Valentine’s Day, we are seeing nearly 30 per cent Y-o-Y growth in orders. Growth is driven by premiumisation, improved delivery reach and higher adoption of same-day and time-specific gifting, with Tier-II cities growing faster than last year.” Flowers (15 per cent), cakes (22 per cent), curated hampers and personalised gifts (30–35 per cent) are the fastest-growing categories, he said.

 

In an earlier conversation, Tarun Joshi, founder and chief executive officer of IGP, another gifting firm, had said that the firm expects to grow 50 per cent Y-o-Y during the occasion.

 

V-Day Sales:

• Flipkart records 58% Y-o-Y spike
• Instamart sees rise in categories like jewellery, greeting cards, plush toys, sexual wellness
• Unicommerce processed 15 mn+ orders from Feb 1-10
• Gifting firm FNP grows 30% Y-o-Y