Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday this year. It’s not exactly a hot date night, and that has many GTA businesses trying to adapt.
Margaret Devries owns three flower shops in Oakville. She’s worked as a florist for 25-years and says her Valentine’s Day business always depends on what day of the week it falls on.
“Each year Valentine’s changes on a day, and that makes a bigger difference than anything to us,” said Devries.
She says before the pandemic, or send some to the office of a loved one.
But with most people now working from home, and gas prices on the rise, business has got a little slower.
She says contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day isn’t a cash cow for florists. Her shop is closed on Sundays, which limits the times she can offer for delivering arrangements.
“People don’t want their Valentine’s Day flowers delivered at five o’clock on Valentine’s night, people want them before twelve on Valentine’s morning,” said Devries.
Cupid’s day falling at the start of the week pushes Galantine’s day to Sunday.
It’s not an official Hallmark holiday, but some view it as a chance to celebrate female friendship
The term was created by the fictional character, Leslie Knope in the second season of Parks and Recreation, in which Leslie gathers a group of her closest girlfriends for lunch.
Other retailers are looking to extend interest in Valentine’s Day over a longer period of time.
The Stackt shipping container market, near Bathurst and Dundas, is launching its Hot Chocolate Festival
The event was a way for the market to cover both Valentine’s and Family Day.
“For the next ten days we really just want to bring people something exciting in this dreary month where there’s not much going on in this city,” said Dayna Goldhar, Marketing Manager at Stackt.
Aside from offering some much need hot chocolate, Saturday afternoon Stackt will be hosting a drag brunch.
Goldhar hopes this promotion helps relaunch the market.
It initially opened in 2019, but closed soon after due to the first COVID-19 provincewide closure, never really getting its feet off the ground.
Goldhar hopes since most of the market is outside, its retailers will be able to make up for the lost time.