New research suggests brands should be ramping up advertising on mobile to drive impulse buys in advance of Valentine's Day, with approximately 20 percent of consumers shopping for a Valentine?s Day gift planning to make a purchase via mobile and 89 percent of shoppers planning to buy last-minute gifts in the week leading up to the holiday. 

The Rubicon Project?s Consumer Pulse: Valentine?s Day 2015 report displays a clear trend of shoppers researching holiday gifts early, but purchasing them late, therefore creating an optimal opportunity for marketers to target the early-bird researcher and the last-minute shopper.  Rubicon Project advises brands to mold consumer shopping habits by leveraging campaigns during the researching phase and focusing on driving mcommerce in the final days leading up to Valentine?s Day.

?There?s a huge opportunity here for advertisers to follow real-time consumer habits this week,? said  Joe Prusz, head of mobile at Rubicon Project, Los Angeles, CA. ?Much like the traditional holiday season later in the calendar year, consumers have high purchase intent in the lead-up to Valentine?s Day and are extremely influenced by advertiser messages, when they are seeing them.

?The survey also highlights that men are likely to be spending more money (with jewelry one of the most popular gift choices), and leaving it late in the week to purchase, offering a key area of focus for relevant advertisers in how they target their spend.?

Tapping uncertain consumers
Nine out of ten survey respondents claimed they were planning to celebrate Valentine?s Day, making it a prime holiday for brands to leverage as marketing material. Targeting uncertain consumers or those with few ideas on what to purchase their loved one is certainly a strategy that marketers should be focusing on as the day approaches.

89 percent of customers surveyed are planning to wait until the week leading up to Valentine?s Day to buy a gift, with more than 33 percent waiting until the day before, Feb. 13. Men were also shown to be frequent candidates of last-minute shopping, as four in ten males admitted they were waiting to purchase their significant other?s present until Feb. 13 or 14.

However, men were also aiming to spend the most, with three in ten respondents planning for gifts more than $100 in price.

Marketers have untapped potential to roll out mobile and online advertisements directed to male consumers in the week leading up to Valentine?s Day, especially on sites or apps shown to have more of a male demographic. More worryingly, 68 percent of individuals surveyed claimed they have not seen one mobile or online ad centered around Valentine?s Day this year, proving there is a deficiency in brands? focus on this holiday.

?One interesting campaign that I?ve seen is the combined Match and Starbucks ?Meet at Starbucks? campaign,? Mr. Prusz said. ?The campaign will be driven on Match?s mobile app and allow people to click online and meet-up for a coffee date. 

?In fact, data from our survey verifies that going out will be a very popular choice for those celebrating, with half of those surveyed saying they plan to celebrate with both a gift and date.?

Targeting millennials
Millennials are heavily influenced by online and mobile content when making a purchasing decision, prompting brands to ensure their mobile Web site and app media is as attractive to younger demographics as possible. Rubicon discovered that millennials are in fact fuelling online spending, with almost half of them purchasing online and one out of four of those consumers buying on a mobile device.

Offering apps to complement the in-store shopping experience may also be a good tactic to employ, as eight of ten millennials will research an item online before deciding to buy in-store.

Advertisements have also been proven to be more effective in swaying opinions than friend or family recommendations. 73 percent of millennials claim to be influenced by online ads, while 57 percent of survey participants admitted they were convinced to purchase an item or service thanks to an online ad.

Brands and marketers still have time in the days leading up to Valentine?s Day 2015 to offer flash sales, special promotions and coupons or last-minute ideas to the consumers that will be hitting the Web or their mobile devices in search of the perfect romantic gift.

?Mobile has emerged as a great channel to shape and increase awareness ? the data shows us that driving a call-to-action this week is important for brands hoping to take advantage of the clear intent-to-purchase and late spend,? Mr. Prusz said.

?Advertisers utilizing real-time trading platforms should be nimble to take advantage of these opportunities as part of their overall marketing strategy.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York