Brands Go Mobile for a Piece of $17.6B Valentine's Day Spending

While Starbucks is updating its Cup Magic app for an augmented reality spin to Valentine's Day in the West, in China it's partnering with Jiepang, a social check-in service, for last-minute Valentine’s dates via a mobile app (see above) and in-store postcards.

Any check-in (in select parts of China) will earn a blue or pink Valentine’s badge which garners two free cups of coffee by purchasing a Starbuck’s reward card. A handful of lucky winners will be eligible for one of 520 Nokia N9 phones, while everybody gets a shot at a coffee date.

A whopping $17.6 billion in Valentine’s Day spending is projected for this year, with NRF’s 2012 Valentine’s Day survey by BIGinsight estimating that 62.2% of online shoppers plan to spend on loved ones (including pets) as follows:

One in five plans to buy jewelry, spending an average of $157.76, and over a third expect to spend an average of $74.78 on a night out.

Many marketers are rolling out tablet and smartphone apps timed for tomorrow, including luxury brands Swarovski and David Yurman, and “eShops have already put on their V-Day faces with some lucrative discounts,” according to tech2.in.com.

From LetsBuy and TheITDepot tech shopping sites, to Timtara and Vouchersmate, deep discounts are ready and available in the palm of your hand for the 46% of shoppers who own a smartphone and the 17% who own a tablet.

One quarter of smartphone owners will research and compare products on their phone, one in ten will make purchases and redeem coupons, and one in five will be looking up on the spot information like location and store hours.

One-third of tablet owners will research products and compare prices, and one in five anticipates actually purchasing their gifts on the device, as well as looking up information about the retailer according to Blog Shop.

Lacoste has found that close to half of their store locator visits originate with mobile devices, aided by social media.

While Candy (50.5%) and Flowers (36.0%) still top the NRF list, for early adopters, sending a mobile video valentine says "I Love You."