Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and, whether you love it or not, there are some aspects worth considering to help your company achieve better — and more tangible — results.
Every year, Valentine’s Day involves millions of shoppers worldwide: in the US, it is considered one of the holidays with the highest spending volumes. In Italy, too, over 60% of Italians celebrated Valentine’s Day in the recently concluded 2025.
Beyond the numbers, however, Valentine’s Day is above all a moment when decisions are made quickly, emotionally and often in a non-linear way. And this is exactly what makes it interesting from a communication perspective.
More specifically, how do Italians behave digitally?
And how can you use this data to give your business a boost? Keep reading to find out.
A first interesting insight concerns the search for the perfect gift. Over 70% of Italians use online searches to look for ideas and compare prices. This represents a clear opportunity: on one hand, to position your brand through targeted campaigns; on the other, to analyse competitors and offer products or services built around a well-defined value proposition.
But when does this search actually begin? According to studies, in early February. Unlike Christmas, consumers do not plan far in advance; instead, they make purchases close to the occasion itself, often driven by emotion and quick decision-making.
For businesses, this is another element that can be turned into an advantage, through strategies such as urgency (ever seen countdown campaigns?), scarcity or the idea of a limited-time opportunity.
In this context, the user journey is anything but linear: moments of interest, second thoughts, waiting times and actions alternate rapidly. Intercepting these moments in the right way is essential to make a real difference.
And what do Italians buy? Unsurprisingly, wine, chocolates and fashion accessories are among the most popular choices. But every business has strong potential to leverage this occasion.
Because beyond the most purchased products, what really makes the difference is not what you communicate, but how and when you do it.
How to create effective campaigns, on Valentine’s Day and beyond
Valentine’s Day is an emotional occasion, but the principles behind effective campaigns apply all year round. The context changes, not the mechanisms. Let’s look at some of them.
1. Personalization and recognition
At the core of every effective campaign lies this capability.
What does this mean in practice? It means creating distinctive, personalised content based on the recipient. Adding the user’s name is not enough: it’s essential to build messages aligned with their profile, for example based on preferences or past purchases.
When a message reflects real user behaviour — what they did, what they didn’t do, what they postponed — perceived relevance naturally increases.
2. Clear design
Visual appearance is what captures attention first. That’s why it’s important to maintain a clean, organised and clear style. For Valentine’s Day, you can choose classic colours and soft, elegant tones — just be careful not to become predictable or overly sentimental.
In other words, design should support content, not distract from it. A clear message always wins over a visually overloaded one.
3. Engagement and reciprocity
The key word is engagement. Games, surveys or simple quizzes can help create or increase user interaction.
Timing matters here too: content delivered at the right moment has a much stronger impact than a generic message sent to everyone at the same time
And if you want to change the rules of the game, instead of asking users to make a purchase, why not give them a gift? A coupon, a discount, a promotion — after all, Valentine’s Day is about love in all its forms, including self-love. A small, unexpected gesture can significantly increase positive brand perception.
To manage communications that truly react to people’s behaviour, you need tools designed to follow journeys, not just send messages.
Now that you have a clearer view of the context and the levers to activate, the next step is having the right tools to act simply and effectively.
With inTouch, you can orchestrate email, SMS and RCS along coherent journeys, adapting messages and timing to real user actions.
Want to learn more? Discover inTouch.
