Cheap gifts preferred on Valentine’s day

YALOVA - Anatolia News Agency

Valantine’s day is one of the busiest time of the year for florists and jewelers. AA photo

Cut flower sales in Yalova, where mass producers are located, have jumped on the eve of Valentine’s Day, while the cheaper jewelry are preferred more, which shows people’s tendency to choose low-cost gifts.

Flower sales triple as Valentine’s Day approaches, a representative of a flower production and marketing cooperative in Yalova said. “Our last flower sale auction will be on Feb. 13, and we expect the highest demand on that day. Normally 100 to 150 boxes of flowers are put up for sale, but these days 300 to 350 boxes are.”

Valentine’s Day is the busiest time of year for flower sales after Mother’s Day, he said.

Although, this year florists don’t hold their expectations up as much as they did in previous years due to the risky market conditions, Savaş Güneş, a 30-years florist said.

The price of flowers also surges as the demand increases. Two bunches of roses are normally sold for 35 to 40 Turkish Liras but around Valentine’s Day the price reaches 80 to 100 liras, the representative said. But, this year, florist hope to sell one rose for around ten liras, keeping the price same with last year.

Roses are the most popular flowers for the holiday, followed by orchids, gillyflowers and freesias.

While flowers continue to hold their place as one of the gift buyer’s top preferences, people are also increasingly opting for cheaper jewelry for their valentines.

Cheaper jewelry

Still, the weight of gold that people buy at Valentine’s Day has decreased in comparison to 10 years ago, said Alaattin Kameroğlu, chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Jewelers.

“Goods with cheaper unit prices are sold more. If people were buying 10-gram gold jewelry 10 years ago, now they’re buying two-gram. This is in parallel with their purchasing power,” he said.

Those who can afford more prefer buying diamonds, but diamond preferences have also shifted, he said, adding that people who used to buy $3,000 rings now try to buy $300-500 ones.

He also said that people don’t choose to buy cheaper luxury goods just on special days, it has been a permanent trend for a while.

The most trending goods on Valentine’s Day are the jewelries having heart shape.

Unlike flower sales, which see a peak at Mother’s Day, jewelry sales are at their highest at New Year and Valentine’s Day, followed by Mother’s Day.