Card shopping: Research shows Valentine's Day is a holiday for procrastinators

It's the time of year when more than half the country will purchase a greeting card that contains every romantic word imaginable.

The next few days will be the busiest of the year for employees at Kirlin's Hallmark in West Park Mall as they prepare for hundreds of Valentine's Day shoppers.

"We'll probably sell about 1,000 cards over the next few days," said Reggie Reed, Hallmark manager.

And shoppers won't have a hard time finding the perfect Valentine's Day card. The aisles of Hallmark are stocked with a variety of cards. There are cards that play the Rolling Stones song "Let's Spend the Night Together" and cards signed by family pets.

"It's getting really creative," Reed said. "You can find a card for anyone or anything."

Feb. 14 and the days leading up to Valentine's Day might be the most stressful time of the year for men.

My Daddy's Cheesecake owner Wes Kinsey describes Valentine's Day as a man's "24-hour holiday."

"It seems there isn't a tremendous amount of thought put in before Valentine's Day," he said. "We see a lot of men come in about 5 o'clock that night to buy on impulse."

Kinsey will sell about 600 boxes of chocolate-covered strawberries by the middle of next week. "It's definitely going to be busy over the next few days," he said.

According to Hallmark research, Valentine's Day is a holiday for procrastinators. Every year more than 50 percent of Americans wait to purchase Valentine's Day cards six days before Feb. 14 -- while some wait even longer. Two days after the holiday, late shoppers will search for the perfect Valentine's Day card at Hallmark.

"There will definitely be those people who forget to buy something," Reed said. "Or they'll receive something from someone else so they'll have to come buy something for that person."

Reed has been the manager at Hallmark for several years, and she said she's noticed men follow a pattern when choosing Valentine's Day cards for their wives or girlfriends.

"They pick up one card, read it and put it back. Pick up a second card, skim over it and put it back. Pick up a third card and buy it," she said.

With only a few days remaining before the most romantic day of the year, Reed shares tips for Valentine's Day shoppers:

• Shop early because there are more cards and gifts to choose from.
• No matter what a woman says, she likes chocolate.
• If you've just started dating, give a small gift. If you remain together for a long time, your gifts will need to get bigger and better.

"Valentine's Day is a fun holiday, but we're always glad when it's over," Reed said. "We've been seeing red ever since Christmas stuff came out in September, so we're ready for Easter."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246