<p>Sure, Cupid is great, but—unlike a smartphone—he can't find a local florist or teach you to cook a lobster tail. So on Valentine's Day, people turn to their phones during these micro-moments to help plan the perfect day for their loved ones. Here, we explore how consumers shop for the holiday and beyond, whether buying gifts or making special meals.</p> <h2>BUYING A LAST-MINUTE GIFT</h2> <p>According to Google Search data, Valentine's Day is the #2 holiday for last-minute gift shopping. People turn to their smartphones to quickly find retail stores near them. As a result, mobile searches for the following locations on Valentine's Day grew year-over-year:</p> <p>“florist near me": 2.6X</p> <p>“chocolates near me”: 4.1X</p> <p>With only a short time to make a purchase, consumers then flood the stores. Many retailers see a surge in midday foot traffic as lovestruck consumers hustle to buy the perfect gift.</p> <h2>MAKING A MEAL</h2> <p>Search interest for "valentine dinners at home" grew nearly 20% year-over-year, as people looked for help in preparing the perfect date-night meal.</p> <p>Once a recipe is chosen, consumers turn to YouTube on their phones to learn how to prepare the meal.</p> <p>Lobster-cooking videos: On Valentine’s Day 2015, the average daily viewership increased 4.9X and 62% of hours watched were viewed on mobile.</p> <p>Red velvet cake videos: On Valentine’s Day 2015, the average daily viewership increased 2X and 73% of hours watched were viewed on mobile.</p> <p>As they research the perfect ingredients, food shoppers turn to mobile to help make the best decisions.</p> <p>87% look up brands they’ve purchased before</p> <p>50% look up brands they've never purchased</p> <h2>WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR BRAND</h2> <p>Be there. The mobile phone is a matchmaker between shoppers and stores. Make sure your brand or store is appearing in mobile searches during last-minute shoppers’ I-want-to-buy moments.</p> <p>Be useful. From a local flower shop providing store hours, to a pharmacy offering up-to-date inventory, to a CPG company creating video recipes, brands that find ways to be useful to consumers in the moment will win their hearts and minds (and dollars).</p> <p>Be quick. Prioritize your mobile content so that your consumer can easily find the most important information fast and without friction.</p> <p>Visit thinkwithgoogle.com/micromoments to learn more.</p>
