Quick-commerce platform Instamart recorded a sharp surge in Valentine’s Day demand, with searches related to Valentine gifting rising nearly 10 times in the week leading up to February 14. Categories such as jewellery, greeting cards, plush toys, curated hampers, roses, and premium chocolates saw significant year-on-year growth, reflecting a shift toward curated and premium gifting. Nearly half of all Valentine’s Day carts were placed as “Orders for Others,” highlighting the scale of direct-to-recipient gifting. Roses witnessed a 10X increase in searches earlier in the week, while teddy bear orders jumped 568% year-on-year. The sexual wellness category also recorded more than threefold growth, indicating evolving consumer preferences.
Chocolates remained the biggest draw, with orders touching a record 1,042 per minute at 11:59 AM on February 14. Searches for heart-shaped chocolates surged 500% week-on-week, while high-value spending trends were visible across cities, including a ₹15,093 makeup order in Cuttack and a ₹10,845 bath-and-body purchase in Surat placed shortly after midnight.
Kolkata registered the highest single-order value, exceeding ₹25,000, with a cart filled with premium dark chocolates, milk variants, curated gift packs, and indulgent add-ons. The large-ticket order highlights strong demand for premium gifting in the Kolkata market.
Bengaluru topped Valentine’s gifting volumes nationwide, followed by Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, underlining the growing role of metros in driving quick-commerce festive consumption.
