OREANDA-NEWS. February 08, 2016. Ah Valentine’s Day. A day for expressing our deepest feelings and showering our beloved with tokens of our affection. In all honesty, it’s more a deluge, than a shower.

In 2015 we spent an estimated \\$18.9 billion to support our cupid habit. To put that in context, that’s nearly a billion more than the 2015 GDP of Papua New Guinea (\\$18 billion) and more than 60 other nations.

As the global economy begins to shift toward on-demand and sharing services, brands positioned to provide customers with time-saving, relevant and fast service will be positioned to attract an even more lucrative claim on Valentine's Day. If Valentine's Day was represented by a box of chocolate, these disruptive brands (and others like them) would be the salted caramels, not those gross lemon creams that everyone throws back. Mmmmmmm….salted caramel…

OpenTable:

Last year OpenTable set a new record for the number of diners it helped celebrate the holiday. Two million people owe their romantic Valentine’s Day dinner to OpenTable.

Half of the tables were reserved using a mobile device and at its peak, OpenTable was servicing 400 searches per second. Restaurants that fail to offer the OpenTable option are missing a huge and growing opportunity.

The most popular cuisine? Italian. Maybe go easy on the garlic though.

Check out this awesome infograpic, detailing OpenTable’s Valentine’s Day 2015.

Adore Me:

Need a new wardrobe to give to or impress your significant other? Check out Adore Me, the Victoria Secret killer. This innovative company boasts a community of over 3 million customers and a loyal VIP membership base that grew by 200% in 2014.

This year Adore Me launched a holiday email campaign that saw a 21% better on average open rate with a 39% conversion rate. The company used the Marketing Cloud tool to segment lists, creating a different messages, such as “Because your squad deserves more than pumpkin spice lattes this year,” for holiday shoppers, than their typical lingerie buyer.

“What we focused on for December is what you can buy for your family members or your friends, so not so much sexy items but maybe sleepwear and PJs,” Adore Me Marketing Associate Josselin Petit-Hoang told Internet Retailer.

Check out how AdoreMe uses email to drive business and create loyal customers.

Kroger:

Even established brands are shifting to accommodate the needs of their on-demand customers. Grocery store giant, Kroger, recently introduced CheckList, allowing customers to order items online and pick them up at the store.

Did you forget the flowers? No worries, pick them up on your way home from work. While you’re at it, get a steak, lobster or bottle of wine and stay in for the night.

UberEATS and UberRUSH:

Speaking of staying in for the night, if you’re lucky enough to live in a city with UberEATS and UberRUSH, you’d never need to leave the comfort of your home. Light some candles and put in a takeout order.

You can’t talk about a disruptive company without mentioning this innovative pioneer. In the next few years we’re going to see Uber disrupt the logistics world.

So far UberEATS is currently available in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington D.C. Don’t see your city listed? It’s just a matter of time.

UberRUSH, the company’s courier service, is currently only available in Chicago, San Francisco and New York, but once it goes wide it will be a game changer. Talk about an ideal last second Valentine’s Day partner. With the Uber family, you could call your date a ride and have flowers and dinner delivered before they arrive.

BlueNile:

Want to splurge this year? Check out BlueNile. The online retailer sells a variety of baubles to make your loved one smile, but they’re best known for their selection of certified diamonds.

There’s a huge educational section that will help you know what diamond best meets your needs and every ring is hand crafted. Plus, there’s a money back guarantee (even if the proposal doesn’t go as planned).