• Procrastinators are out in full force: Orders of luxury goods and jewelry are up 22% in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Better late than never 🙂.
• They’re willing to pay for speed: 16% of those orders opted in for faster shipping, compared to 9% of orders in mid-January.
• Urgency is driving cart values higher: AOVs peaked at $138 on February 7. 

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Valentine’s Day is nearly here, and for those who waited a bit too long, that means some panic shopping is in order. 

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And a look at PrettyDamnQuick’s checkout data shows that these last-minute shoppers are buying all of the typical Valentine’s Day gifts: jewelry, wallets, watches, and personalized items. 

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Orders of luxury goods and jewelry have been surging in the week before Valentine’s Day, with 22% higher order volumes compared to the same time in January. It’s a similar trend to last year, when luxury and jewelry orders surged 20% in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day. 

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February 4 (10 days before Valentine’s Day) and February 9 (5 days before Valentine’s Day) saw particularly dramatic increases.

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The data tracks well with industry benchmarks. The National Retail Federation’s annual survey predicted that shoppers would spend a record $29.1 billion in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, with the most spending ($7 billion) going towards jewelry.

Last-Minute Shoppers Need Fast Shipping

This surge in orders reveals some interesting patterns about last-minute shopper behavior.

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According to PrettyDamnQuick’s data, 16.1% of luxury goods and jewelry orders placed between February 3 and 10 included faster shipping options like express, overnight, or next-day shipping. That’s a 71% increase over the 9.4% baseline recorded at the end of January.  

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Their urgency only increased as the week went on and they realized they were running out of time to get their gifts ordered. 

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By February 10, a whopping 60% of luxury and jewelry orders were placed with fast shipping.

Last-Minute Shoppers Spend More, Too

PrettyDamnQuick’s data found that shoppers placing orders in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day spent much more than is typical for the category. The average order value (AOV) for luxury goods and jewelry peaked at $138 on February 7.

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This tracks with NRF’s survey data, which found that shoppers planned to spend an average of $200 on Valentine’s Day gifts this year. 

How to Plan for Last-Minute Shoppers

• Analyze your own historical patterns: The Valentine’s Day effect appears to be limited to luxury goods and jewelry, which is a good reminder that not all items will follow seasonal gifting trends. Benchmark patterns across your own category, not the industry average.
• Overcommunicate shipping deadlines: Customers seem to be ordering later but still expecting fast delivery. Experiment with countdown timers and display them on product pages and at checkout. 
• Display estimated delivery dates at checkout: Showing a concrete date incentivizes shoppers more than a generic “2-3 days” message. 
• Try scarcity messaging: Emphasizing that it’s your “last chance” or that “only overnight shipping guarantees Valentine’s delivery” drives the urgency home for last-minute shoppers.

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Madeline Stone writes data-backed content for PrettyDamnQuick. She previously wrote about the e-commerce industry as a longtime reporter at Business Insider. ‍

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