The trap of the "Hallmark Holidays"

A couple of weeks back, someone asked me "Is Valentine's Day overrated?"

And in my usual style of going overboard, I wrote about the day itself, and how it came to be, and how it is just another marketing gimmick to drive up sales.

Valentine’s day (now week) is the Eve of all Hallmark holidays - celebrations heavily promoted by merchants and sellers in order to get naive idiots to make more purchases.

The NRF (National Retail Foundation) estimated Father’s Day sales in 2017 to be around $15.5 bn. (source)

Father’s Day shoppers are expected to spend an average $134.75 for the holiday, up from last year’s $125.92. With 77 percent of consumers surveyed celebrating, total spending is expected to reach $15.5 billion. That’s the highest number in the survey’s 15-year history, topping last year’s previous record of $14.3 billion.

However, it holds no candle to mother’s day when sales were almost 50% higher. (source)

Mother’s Day shoppers are expected to spend an average of $186.39 for the holiday, up from last year’s $172.22. With 85 percent of consumers surveyed celebrating the holiday, total spending is expected to reach $23.6 billion. That’s the highest number in the survey’s 14-year history, topping last year’s previous record of $21.4 billion.

V-Day is somewhere in the middle. (source)

U.S. consumers are expected to spend an average $143.56 on Valentine’s Day as 55 percent of the population celebrates this year, an increase from last year’s $136.57, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Total spending is expected to reach $19.6 billion, up from $18.2 billion last year. The numbers are the second-highest in the survey’s 15-year history, topped only by the record $146.84 and $19.7 billion seen in 2016.

How much is this fabricated holiday important to the retail industry is a subjective assessment. However, specific to the greeting card industry, there is an interesting statistic. (From: Valentine's Day: How Much Does Hallmark Make Selling Greeting Cards?)

The business of greeting cards is extremely lucrative. According to the  Greeting Card Association, nearly  6.5 billion greeting cards are purchased in America each year, with the retail sales of greeting cards estimated to be between $7 and $8 billion. The GCA cites that  145 million Valentine's Day cards are purchased each year…

2.2% of annual greeting card sales happen for V-Day, almost 8x the usual sales. Between it and Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas, almost quarter of annual greeting card sales happen for just 4 days.

I make it a point to get my wife something every now and then, as a gesture of my affection. However, I try and stay far away from the dreaded 2nd week the 2nd month. I mean, why buy a couple of roses for ?200 on the 14th of Feb when you can buy an entire bouquet with the same amount on any other day?