The most romantic day of the year is almost here, which means shoppers are actively searching for the perfect gift for their loved ones. As a seller on Walmart Marketplace, this presents a major opportunity to significantly increase your sales and reach new customers.
Walmart.com sees a major spike in activity around almost every holiday, and Valentine’s Day is no exception. Make sure your Walmart Marketplace store is ready to capitalize on this seasonal sales rush!
Use Targeted Keywords Across Your Store
One of the most important things you can do to prepare for the Valentine’s Day shopping frenzy is to incorporate seasonal keywords across your entire store. Ensure your product titles, descriptions, attributes, and images contain Valentine’s Day terms that buyers are searching for like “Valentine’s Day gift,” “for her,” “for him,” “romantic,” “flowers,” “chocolates,” “jewelry,” “for wife,” etc. Optimizing your listings with these keywords will help your products appear in those searches.
In your product title, make sure to use your most important keywords, especially gift-related phrases that include “Valentine’s Day.” This will grab the attention of gift seekers browsing the marketplace.
Then in your key features and site description, incorporate additional Valentine’s Day search phrases like “romantic gift,” “perfect for your Valentine,” “celebrate love,” “from the heart,” etc. Weave these organically within your listing content.
If you’ve been selling on Walmart.com for a while, analyze your past sales data to identify winning products and categories from the previous Valentine’s Day season. See which items sold well or spikes in certain categories related to the holiday. Use this to inform your keyword strategy and determine which products to push most.
Refresh Your Product Listings for Valentine’s Day
Now that you’ve optimized your product pages for Valentine’s Day with targeted keywords, it’s time to refresh the look and messaging of your listings. Even if a product sells well year-round, you can still tailor the title, images, and description to position it as a potential Valentine’s Day gift specifically.
Add imagery featuring romantic symbols like roses, hearts, chocolate, couples exchanging gifts, candlelit dinners, etc. Show shoppers how your product can be given as the perfect Valentine’s Day gift.
In your title and description copy, speak directly to Valentine’s Day shoppers. For example, “This pendant necklace makes a timeless romantic gift for your wife this Valentine's Day” or “Treat your girlfriend to these luxurious bath bombs this Valentine's Day.”
Showcase or create lifestyle images of your products wrapped up in ribbon, gift bags, or product packaging to inspire consumers shopping for a gift.
You can also offer limited-edition Valentine’s themed variations of your top selling items. For example, add a heart-shaped version in pink or red hues.
Create Valentine’s Day Bundles
One of the most effective ways to increase your Valentine’s Day sales is to bundle products together for ready-made gift sets. Identify complementary products that you can package together to create gifts “from the heart.” Shoppers will love being able to purchase multiple matching items in one click.
Great Valentine’s gift bundle ideas include:
Chocolates or candy + stuffed animal
Jewelry + bouquet of roses
Scented candle + massage oil
Wine glasses + bottle of wine
Romantic comedy DVD + popcorn kit
Lingerie + sensual massage oil
Bath bombs + luxury bath towels
Couples bracelets or necklaces
These bundles cater perfectly to Valentine’s Day shoppers who don’t have time to put together all the pieces of a great gift. Take the guesswork out for them!
Promote Bundles Across Social Media
Speaking of those themed gift sets, make sure to showcase your creative bundles across your social media channels. Develop unique social posts for each one highlighting the gift items and savings. Share tempting product images that grab attention and get engagement.
You can post videos that unwrap your gift sets and showcase each item. Show customers exactly what they’ll get and build excitement around the bundles.
Another great idea is to tease coming bundles or deals in the days leading up to the holiday. Offer a sneak peek of a few featured products going into a must-have gift set. Build interest and intrigue!
Run Valentine’s Day Contests and Giveaways
Contests, giveaways and sweepstakes are another excellent way to engage your target audience around Valentine’s Day. The most popular and successful promos feature your actual products as prizes.
For example, you could give away one of your luxurious gift baskets or bundles that you created for Valentine’s Day. Or offer up a high-ticket item like a piece of jewelry, perfume gift set, romantic getaway package, etc.
Promote the giveaway across your store, website, email subscribers, and social channels. Consider running it with a popular influencer in your niche to gain more exposure.
Require various social actions to gain more entries like following your brand’s social profiles, sharing the promotion with friends, posting images with your products, etc.
This type of exciting contest around Valentine’s Day will attract a ton of buzz and engagement. It also builds your audience and email list for future marketing.
Offer Free Shipping or Seasonal Discounts
Providing free shipping or a seasonal discount makes your Walmart Marketplace listing even more attractive to gift-seekers during crunch time before Valentine’s Day. The savings draw in buyers and incentivize them to purchase from you over other sellers.
Tactically time these perks to run just before and even during the Valentine's shopping rush. You can set up Free Shipping or Sale promotions under the “Price & Quantity” section of your Walmart Seller Center. Specify the start and end dates for maximum impact leading up to February 14th.
Send Valentine’s Day Email Campaigns
Email marketing campaigns are another excellent way to connect with potential Valentine’s Day customers. Segment out your buyer list by gender and purchase history to deliver the most relevant offers.
Send product recommendations showcasing your best gift ideas “for her” and “for him” this Valentine’s Day. Share picks for wives, girlfriends, husbands and boyfriends.
Create emails highlighting your seasonal products, special bundles, discounts and any contest or giveaway. Deliver these targeted messages in the weeks ahead leading up to the holiday.
Remind past customers to come shop your Valentine’s gifts again this year. Showcase new arrivals and best-sellers that build on previous purchases.
Leverage Influencers to Boost Visibility
Influencer marketing around special occasions like Valentine’s Day can greatly expand your reach and exposure. Identify popular influencers in your niche that align well with your brand’s mission and products. Reach out to set up a custom integration.
Gift your products to select influencers to feature and promote to their audiences in dedicated posts and content. Require them to share your store link, specific product pages, any giveaways and relevant messaging about gifting for Valentine’s Day.
Micro-influencers are very affordable to work with and often drive high engagement and clicks. Partner with nano and micro influencers in addition to any larger names you secure.
Add Specialty Seasonal Items
While you likely have great everyday products in your Walmart Marketplace store already, it’s smart to add some specialty seasonal items around iconic holidays like Valentine’s Day. These products tap into consumer demand for gifts tailored specifically for the romantic occasion.
Consider carrying things like heart-shaped jewelry, flower bouquets, chocolate-dipped strawberries, teddy bears, sensual massage oils or lingerie, romantic messages in a bottle, scented candles and more.
These complementary products can significantly increase your Valentine’s Day sales potential. They require some upfront planning and inventory purchases, but the boost in orders makes it more than worthwhile.
The key is making sure they are available in your Walmart store ahead of February 14th to catch that early gift-buying wave.
Valentine’s Day generates major sales opportunities in specific niches, especially in the gift category. Follow these tips to make the most of the seasonal shopping spike and significantly boost your Walmart Marketplace sales. Let us know if you need any other recommendations on marketing your store for holidays!