|
Valentine's Day is over. For many singles, it was the dreaded 'Black Thursday.' It's a sentiment which certainly seems valid. Society's infatuation with the holiday had been on display in almost every store window, newspaper ad, TV show or Internet website for days. And no matter how much you tried to avoid it, the love bug just kept screaming at your face out of nowhere.
It is highly conceivable that anyone who was alone that day probably felt bad at one point for not getting any flowers, chocolates, cards, let alone a date. If you're one of them, despair no more. The good news is, you did not have to spend a fraction of what the rest of the love-struck consumers did, just to please their significant other.
Days before February 14, Saudi Arabia, which follows a strict interpretation of Islam, banned the sale of red roses, red wrapping paper, gift boxes and teddy bears. To them, such items ought to be removed from shops as they "encourage immoral relations between unmarried men and women."
In any case, the holiday has become overly commercialised. Businesses have turned the occasion into a corporate scheme to get people to go out and buy all the red junk in stores with inflated prices.
Based on the National Retail Federation estimates, consumers in the US alone most likely spent a whopping $13.7 billion last Thursday, or the days before that, to express their affection. That's a 22 per cent rise from the Valentine spending recorded five years ago. Retailers have obviously been aiming to pump up consumer spending on a vigorous scale and rake in something like the bigger profits that only Christmas can make.
Since half of the US population buys at least one card to celebrate Valentine's Day, Hallmark also forecast an exchange of 180 million greetings last Thursday. Worldwide, the US Greeting Card Association estimated that about one billion Valentine cards are sent each year. That makes February 14 the second largest card-sending holiday after Christmas.
The occasion also proves to be a good business for chocolate makers, as many consumers headed straight to the candy shelves last week.
According to The Nielsen Company, the week ending February 17 last year "showed total sales of $322.7 million for chocolate candy in US food, drug and mass merchandiser stores, including Wal-Mart."
The global information and media company had also anticipated overindulgence in sparkling wines, as more consumers likely downed premium-priced drinks to get into the Valentine spirit.
The celebrations are now over, and businesses are now counting their profits. Amid the bloated prices and the overall misery that Valentine's Day brings, it is the merchants that stand to gain from the commodification of romance.
If your pockets are now empty after a day or night of splurging, it pays to get more prudent when Valentine's Day comes around.
For the singles who felt lonely, at least be happy that you did not fall for the marketing ploys that offer nothing but sheer fantasy and false promises.
|
