Let shoppers feel the love

I was out shopping the other day when I overheard a couple as they passed the aisle of cards, chocolates and teddy bears.

“We don’t do Valentine’s do we dear? What is it that we do”? “Anniversaries darling - we do anniversaries,” before he gave a withering look to the display of heart shaped novelties and grunted “oh, the pressure”.

I was overcome with dismay. The romantic in me prayed that I’d never end up in a relationship like that. I felt sorry for his poor wife and was sorely tempted to stop him and say: “Buy her a card, you misery. Go on I dare you: show her that you love her.”

Then my retail reflex kicked in and I felt angry. Pressure? I’ll give him pressure. Does he know how much time, energy and money we all invest in retail promotions like Valentine’s? Does he know what it feels like being a retail director or store manager, as they hunt for reasons, ahead of their sales meetings, as to why Valentine’s didn’t do the numbers the rest of the business was expecting?

Does he realise it’s the retail industry that’s pretty much single-handedly dragged this country out of recession?

We can live without the plaudits and the empathy but do us all a favour dear customer and meet us half way: don’t wait until Easter to buy your partner something thoughtful.

Is one grumpy old man reflective of a broader creeping consumer cynicism and if so what’s brought it all on? Maybe it’s the weather we’ve been having. Maybe it’s because it turns out that the car we all thought was going to save the planet might kill us all, one car-load at a time.

Or maybe it’s because one of our favourite footballers wasn’t really “dad of the year” after all. It’s even starting to affect me. While everyone worries about which sponsors will desert John Terry, I’m thinking that his new tie-up with Dubai is a stroke of genius.

You can see the brand synergies: one’s financially bankrupt, the other morally. Both brands are fighting to revive battered reputations and you can bet both will be desperate for everything to end happily ever after.

It’ll be the story of the year if it does and soon couples from all over the world will shun Lourdes and instead cure their broken relationships by taking the waters in Dubai instead.

My real worry is that cynicism manifests itself in our customers “doing without” or “giving Valentine’s a miss this year”, which is shortly followed by the loss of retail muscle memory: that reflex that stops customers in their tracks beside a fabulous display of gorgeous new things and then makes them reach in to get their credit card out.

To counter the cynics we need more joy in our lives. More feel-good stories. More kissing and making up. No pressure JT. Let’s hope he bought her a nice card.

Jacqueline Gold is chief executive of Ann Summers