老黄, Valentine’s Day is coming. Have you noticed? This year, many people aren’t buying gifts for their partners—they’re choosing to ‘love their old self’ and buying gifts for themselves instead.

I’ve noticed. A significant portion of single people are buying for themselves, and even married people are valuing ‘practicality’ and ‘experiences’ more, instead of just roses and chocolate.

From my perspective in marketing, it’s obvious: it’s getting harder to justify the premium on flowers and jewelry, while games, skincare, and sports gear are selling more steadily.

That’s related to changing consumer attitudes. With more pressure in life, people would rather spend money on things that ‘make me better’ instead of being led by holiday rituals.

But that’s not very friendly to brands. Holiday-driven sales rely on explosive growth, while self-reward consumption is frequent and scattered—it’s harder to boost sales in just one day.

Not necessarily. If cities, cultural tourism, and the restaurant industry turn ‘self-reward’ into an experience-based scenario, they can actually draw people out to spend.

To put it plainly, stop saying ‘you must give something to your lover’ and switch to ‘you deserve it.’ Then make solid products—that’s how you get conversions.

Yeah, maybe the meaning of holidays is changing—from proving something to others to being more honest with yourself and your relationships.