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What India bought for Valentine’s Day: Flipkart report
Searches rise 1.26x as fashion, decor and beauty dominate Valentine’s Week
BENGALURU: Valentine’s Day in India is no longer a single-date affair. New data from Flipkart shows the occasion has stretched into a full-fledged shopping season, marked by higher searches, faster fulfilment and more expressive gifting.
Flipkart’s latest #FlipTrends report shows overall demand on the platform rose 1.42 times between 7 and 12 February, 2026, as Valentine’s Week gathered momentum. Search queries increased 1.26 times, while orders climbed 1.41 times, led by fashion, home decor and beauty categories. Cookies, biscuits, watches, stuffed toys and chocolates ranked among the most popular gifting choices.
Shopping patterns pointed to celebrations becoming increasingly home-led and personal. Demand for decor items such as showpieces, lights and artificial flowers rose 1.6 times, signalling a shift from grand gestures to curated experiences. As the week progressed, purchases tilted towards cakes, pastries and mugs, reflecting last-minute planning.
Quick commerce played a defining role. Flipkart Minutes recorded a 7 times year-on-year growth between 7 and 14 February, with 14 February seeing peak order activity. Order values surged between 9 and 10 am, followed by a second spike between 7 and 8 pm.
Discovery was driven by ‘RelationShop’, Flipkart’s in-app experience built around modern relationship stages, from ‘situationship’ to ‘moving on’. The ‘talking phase’ emerged as the most shopped segment, driving demand for earphones, late-night snacks, energy drinks, board games and chocolates.
Shoppers leaned heavily into playful and sentimental gifts. Chocolate orders doubled, while baby pillows jumped 21 times, stuffed toys rose 15 times, showpieces grew 14 times, women’s fashion rings climbed 14 per cent and greeting cards increased 13 per cent. Gen Z shoppers broadened the celebration to include Galentine’s Day, with perfumes, rings, necklaces and cards trending on 13 February.
Geographically, metros such as Kolkata and Hyderabad, along with Tier 1-plus cities including Ranchi, Siliguri, Ludhiana and Dehradun, emerged as strong markets for quick Valentine’s Week purchases.
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AI becomes key tool for Indian travellers, Agoda report finds
68 per cent plan to use AI for trips as 33 per cent already rely on it.
MUMBAI: Holiday planning is getting a software upgrade less “Where should we go?” and more “What does the algorithm say?” Indian travellers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to map their journeys, with new data from Agoda’s 2026 Travel Outlook Report suggesting that AI is fast becoming central to how trips are imagined, planned and booked.
While 33 per cent of respondents said they already use AI tools for travel planning, a far larger 68 per cent indicated they are likely to rely on it for their next trip pointing to a sharp acceleration in adoption in a market already comfortable with digital-first travel.
What travellers want from AI, however, goes well beyond basic search. The report shows 38 per cent are looking for recommendations on local attractions and activities, while 37 per cent expect personalised itineraries. Destination discovery remains a key use case at 29 per cent, with dining suggestions (23 per cent) and budget management (22 per cent) also emerging as practical applications.
The shift reflects a broader change in expectations AI is no longer a novelty but a planning companion expected to work across every stage of the journey, from inspiration to execution.
Trust levels appear to be keeping pace. Nearly 88 per cent of respondents said they either trust or feel neutral about AI-generated recommendations, including 53 per cent who expressed clear confidence. This builds on earlier trends, with Agoda’s 2025 survey showing nine in ten Indian travellers already using apps to book travel suggesting AI adoption is more evolution than disruption.
The company has been testing this appetite through initiatives such as its 2025 AI-powered Vacation Planner campaign, which generated customised itineraries and visuals based on user inputs, delivered with a layer of celebrity-led engagement.
For platforms like Agoda, which aggregates more than 6 million properties, over 130,000 flight routes and 300,000 travel activities, AI offers a way to navigate scale without overwhelming users turning abundance into relevance.
As AI continues to embed itself into everyday decision-making, India is emerging as a market where travel planning is not just going digital, but decisively intelligent.
