It’s an age-old adage that “the red rose is a flower of love” and what better way to express your love on Valentine’s Day, than with a bunch of the ubiquitous blooms and chocolates, right? Not, if you ask the youngsters who are ditching traditional gifts like roses, candies and chocolates for fancy gadgets like iPods, e-book readers, smart watches and phones.
A tour of the popular markets around the city reveals that as the excitement of Valentine’s Day (February 14) is gradually building into a feverish pitch, an ever-increasing number of youngsters, bitten by the love bug are opting for expensive electronic gadgets for their significant others as Valentine’s Day gift.
According to shopkeepers, the hot selling items are smart watches and phones and on an average, people are spending Rs.20,000-30,000 on a gift.
“We get around a dozen youngsters, both boys and girls everyday who are looking for the latest gadget as a gift for their Valentine,” said Subhash Jain, owner of a popular electronics shop in Delhi’s upscale Khan Market.
“I’ve observed that most of the girls are going for smart watches and gaming consoles for their boyfriends and for the boys, phones and iPods are the preferred choice of gift for their partner,” he added.
Jain’s views were corroborated by Anil Jamwal, manager at a leading electronics store franchise in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh.
“The sales of gadgets around Valentine’s Day have definitely increased over the last couple of years. More youngsters are spending big bucks on things like gaming consoles, cameras and phones,” he said.
According to leading industry body, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the trend can be attributed to increasing number of tech-savvy youngsters who have high disposable incomes.
"With increasing disposable incomes and more people becoming techno-junkie, demand for wearable gadgets, smart phones, tablets, e-book readers and others are growing by the day more so as impact of demonetisation has receeded… all these factors are likely to fuel shopping of love-struck couples who plan to spend a bomb on Valentine’s Day," DS Rawat, secretary general, ASSOCHAM said.
Cashing in on the trend are the online shopping websites as many of them have created a separate Valentine’s Day gifts section and smartly included electronic gadgets along with the traditional gifts.
“I was browsing the girls section of an e-commerce site to buy a gift and it was an unusual sight to see Bluetooth headphones and smart watches listed next to make-up kits and dresses,” said 22-year-old Shubham Jain, who had initially planned to buy a dress for his girlfriend but ended up getting a smart watch.