David's Cookies is offering 15% off all Valentine's Day items. Use Coupon Code VDAYLS at Checkout.
FredFlare.com is running a "We Love Sale" as well as free shipping on orders of $75 or more.
Godiva is offering free standard shipping with orders of $50 or more. Used code "hearts."
Jelly Belly is offering 10% off orders of $35 or more. Use code: HEART. Offer ends 2-9-10.
Ice.com is offering 25% sitewide plus free shipping for its Ice.com Valentine's Day Sale. Ends Feb 14th. Use coupon code SVW25
Kiehl's is offering free ground shipping plus three complimentary samples on any Kiehls.com order of $30 or more placed by Friday, February 12th. Enter code KISS at checkout.
L'Occitane is offering free express shipping on orders of $60 or more for Valentine's Day Delivery. Good through Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
Lord & Taylor is offering 15% off Fine Jewelry sale-priced and clearance when you use promo code: FINAL at checkout.
Neiman Marcus is offering free two-day delivery with Code LOVE. Offer expires 2/09/10 at 11:59 PM CT.
ProFlowers.com is offering 25% off $29.99 with code VDAY25. Ends 2-10-10.
Ross-simons is offering 25% off sitewide plus free shipping. Use Code SAVE25
Saks Fifth Avenue is running its spend$some, get$some offer that lets you get a Saks Gift Card depending on
how much you spend. The offer takes place online Feb 9 and Feb 10 and in Saks stores on February 11th.
The Daily Mailreports that swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker - the wife of US tennis star Andy Roddick - is the new face of of La Senza's Valentine lingerie. La Senza's website can be found here.
Juicy Couture is selling these heart-shaped sunglasses. The glasses have pink plastic frames, heart-shaped, gradient lenses and contrasting earpieces. They offer 100% UV protection. They can be purchased here for $98.
For a lower price heart-shaped sunglasses option, Fredflare is selling Sweatheart Sunnies here for $11.
Williams-Sonoma is selling heart shaped whoopie pies for Valentine's Day. The company says its Sweetie Pies come from a bakery in Maine. Local butter and free-range eggs are used to make the pies. The red-velvet cakes are filled with buttercream and come in three flavors: chocolate, raspberry and classic vanilla. The pies are individually wrapped and packaged in a ribbon-tied box. You can buy them here for $49.
Williams-Sonoma also sells a whoopie pie pan so you can make your own whoopie pies. However, the pan's shallow whoopie wells are round, not heart shaped.
Papa Murphy is offering heart shaped pizzas for Valentine's Day. The pizzas can be picked up from one of the take 'n' bake chain's 1,180-plus locations.
"Pizza is a fun food to begin with, but make it heart-shaped for Valentine's Day and you've got an equation for an entertaining and memorable meal!" said Carron Harris, vice president of product development at Papa Murphy's. "Whether it's a large family gathering or a romantic dinner for two, we're honored that so many choose to celebrate the day with us!"
According to NRF's 2010 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, couples will spend less money on each other than last year. Last year couples spent an average of $67.22. That amount is forecast to drop nearly 10% to $63.34 this year. The NRF forecasts couples to spend less but individuals will spend a little more overall. The survey predicts the average person will spend $103.00 on Valentine's Day merchandise this year, which is very similar to last year's $102.50. Valentine's Day spending in 2009 - during the middle of the recession - was not very good for retailers. The news that this year won't be better probably isn't what retailers want to hear.
The items people are buying include typical Valentine's Day gifts like flowers, chocolate and cards. Traditional gifts such as greeting cards (54.9%), candy (47.2%) and flowers (35.6%) remain popular choices. Spending on clothing is expected to climb (14.4% vs. 10.2% in 2009) while jewelry spending is expected to fall slightly (15.5% vs. 16.0% last year).
Americans will spend more on friends, co-workers and pets this year. The average person will spend $5.37 on friends, up from $4.74 last year; $4.29 on classmates and teachers, compared to $3.59 last year; and $2.84 on co-workers, slightly up from the $1.94 they spent in 2009. The average person will spend $3.27 on pets this year - a big jump from $2.17 last year. Spending on family members will remain the same ($20.94 vs. $20.95 last year).
Men will spend nearly twice the amount women spend on the holiday. The average man plans to shell out $135.35 to impress the people in his life while women only expect to spend $72.28. Men spending a lot more than women is typical for Valentine's Day.
The Nanny star Fran Drescher will be hosting "Valentine Schmalentine," a week-long marathon of back-to-back episodes of The Nanny. The week runs from Monday, Feb. 8 though Sunday, Feb. 14, on Nick at Nite. During "Valentine Schmalentine," Fran will also share her expertise on love, dating, romance and relationships, as well as her favorite clips from The Nanny series.
Jennifer Garner appears in a scene with Taylor Swift in the upcoming star studded movie, Valentines Day. Jennifer Garner also appears in scenes with Ashton Kutcher and with a giant heart pinata. The film arrives in theaters on February 12th. Some of other cast members include Bradley Cooper, Emma Roberts, Taylor Lautner, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Patrick Dempsey, Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifya and Julia Roberts.
Reuters Shop Talk blog reports that Target announced plans to combine Valentine's Day and Super Bowl promotions in its stores. The Super Bowl is February 7th and Valentine's Day is February 14th so the two big days are just a week apart. At Target the two events will be combined to become Super Valenbowl. Michael Francis, Target's chief marketing officer, announced the plans in a meeting with analysts.
"As the timing of the Super Bowl now encroaches more and more on more on Valentine's Day, we've embraced the challenge and decided to create a uniquely Target holiday, which we've called Super Valenbowl. It's a great opportunity to have some fun and reassure Mom she can get everything she needs from Super Bowl party supplies to Valentine's Cards and treats all in her favorite store," Francis told a chuckling audience.
The football player with pink cupid wings is pretty amusing.
Image: Reuters, via screenshot from Target's analyst meeting Webcast
This year Sweethearts will feature new fruity flavors and bright colors, printed with modern sayings. The company came up with some new sayings through an online contest. "Tweet Me" and "Text Me" are a couple of Sweethearts new candy heart phrases. The company has also set up a Twitter account, @my_sweethearts.
"Sweethearts have long been America's favorite Valentine's Day candy for sharing a sweet sentiment with loved ones," said Jackie Hague, vice president of marketing at the New England Confectionery Company. "The new tastier flavors, vibrant colors and modern expressions will ensure that Sweethearts continue to delight people of all ages and help them say something sweet to those they care about."
Last summer, to modernize the classic sayings, Sweethearts discarded all previous expressions and held an online consumer contest that asked Americans what they wanted to see on their Sweethearts. Favorite sayings that made their debut in years past, such as "Fax Me" and "Email Me," will now be replaced with phrases for new technologies including "Tweet Me" and "Text Me."
"It's great that America chose 'Tweet Me' to be a new Sweethearts saying," said Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, Inc. "Twitter is a new way to communicate in 140 characters or less and Sweethearts have been helping people communicate using short phrases for decades."
The complete list of the top 10 new phrases combines both contemporary expressions ("Tweet Me," "Text Me," "You Rock," "Soul Mate," "Love Bug" and "Me + You") and the return of classic expressions ("Puppy Love," "Sweet Love," "Sweat Pea" and "Love Me").
This item called Magic Frog to Prince is in some stores as a Valentine's Day item. The frog turns into a prince when water is added. When more water is added the prince grows three times in size. The novelty gift can be purchased here on FredFlare for $8.
Hallmark Cards has announced the release of webcam greetings, new cards that use augmented reality technology to bring the card to life on a computer screen. The person receiving the card can visit www.hallmark.com/extra and follow the directions to be able to view a 3D animated feature by holding the greeting card up to a web camera.
"As Hallmark embarks upon our next 100 years in business, it's important to continually identify new ways to help amplify the emotions our consumers feel when experiencing and sharing our products," said Monic Muldrew, associate product manager. "With the experience available through these cards that come to life with a webcam, we hope consumers will fully explore and interact with this fun new way to connect."
You can see an example of an augmented reality Hoops and Yoyo Valentine's Day card in the video below.
Mr. Potato Head gave flowers to Mrs. Potato Head on Valentine's Day. The photograph was taken on the street outside of Hasbro's American International Toy Fair showroom in New York. Hasbro still makes the Potato Head dolls which allow kids to change the Potato Head's smiles, noses, arms, eyes and other features.
Barack and Michelle Obama had a quiet Valentine's Day dinner together in Chicago at Table 52 last night. Well, as quiet as these things can be with an entire complement of secret service agents and a traveling press pack. Although strangely, somehow the traveling press corp got "accidentally" left behind when they went to dinner, leaving the first couple without press coverage of their every move for almost an hour.
The Obamas are spending a long weekend in Chicago for their first real break since he became president on Jan. 20. Aides say they have no public events.
The couple left their Hyde Park home on Chicago's south side Saturday evening for a quiet dinner at Table 52, a restaurant owned by Oprah Winfrey's former chef, Art Smith. The menu features traditional Southern fare such as grits and sausage and catfish jambalaya.
The trip came with a minor hiccup: Obama's motorcade left without the small group of reporters who travel everywhere with the president. The motorcade pulled out of the neighborhood and left the president without media coverage for about 45 minutes, unusual for the news organizations covering Obama and the White House.
Earlier in the day, Obama began his weekend with a familiar trip to a gym in a friend's apartment building. Between his election and inauguration, Obama made the daily trip to his friend's gym. Obama didn't speak with reporters.
An entire 45 minutes without press coverage of the Obamas? Absolutely shocking.
Food and Wine's Gail Simmons shares her knowledge of food-related aphrodisiacs with Maggie Rodriguez and Julie Chen. We miss Gail on Project Runway. Gail discusses oysters, honey, honeycomb, caviar, chilis, avocados and chocolate. She says these foods contain the nutrients that help you get in the mood. Gail also shares some historical insights into how these foods become known as aphrodisiacs. Take a look:
According to NRF's 2010 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, couples will spend less money on each other than last year. Last year couples spent an average of $67.22. That amount is forecast to drop nearly 10% to $63.34 this year. The NRF forecasts couples to spend less but individuals will spend a little more overall. The survey predicts the average person will spend $103.00 on Valentine's Day merchandise this year, which is very similar to last year's $102.50. Valentine's Day spending in 2009 - during the middle of the recession - was not very good for retailers. The news that this year won't be better probably isn't what retailers want to hear.
