Chinese consumers were once flooded with enthusiasm over Valentine’s Day, the unofficial Cyber-Valentine’s Day (520) and tradition-rich Qixi. But the electric charge around love festivals is dimming.

Just five or six years ago, love-centered festivals were a reliable consumer engine based on gifts, jewelry and flowers, while Qixi held deep cultural resonance. But now, those surges are sputtering, and luxury brands, which have been reliant on those sales spikes since 2016 (Dior was the first luxury name to launch a 520 campaign in China), are facing a reckoning.

The waning glow of romance festivals

According to official government statistics, marriage registrations have declined by more than half between 2014 and 2024. Amid this decrease, a rising number of young people don’t expect to pair off — singlehood is no longer considered a gap to fill, but a legitimate life choice. According to a 2024 survey by state media Southern Weekly, 30.1% of surveyed Chinese university students have little desire to find a romantic partner, while 11.1% say they “completely don’t want to” find one. The same survey suggests that among older age groups, 35 to 44-year-olds have the highest rate of unwillingness to marry, at 32.6%.

According to Alexis Bonhomme, CEO of strategy and data agency Trinity Asia, “There are three layers behind this cooling: economics, social contract and self-definition — and they all reinforce each other.” The cost of “doing adulthood” has outpaced income growth, he notes. When property markets weaken and household confidence falters, “marriage stops looking like security and starts looking like liability”. In that sense, anxiety — not romance — has become the organizing force for most under-35s.

Bonhomme adds that younger, educated women are increasingly opting out of a deal that no longer looks attractive. “Marriage in China still comes with asymmetric expectations: childcare, eldercare, emotional labor, and, in many cases, financial contribution to housing,” he says. “Younger women are asking a very simple question: what do I get in return?”

The same pattern is mirrored in consumption habits. Bonhomme observes that “status through visible consumption is less compelling for the middle” consumer segment, with roughly 45% of aspirational Chinese clients cutting back on luxury purchases in the past year. Women, in particular, are no longer buying into the “marry well, consume more” promise, as they access status through self-investment in beauty, wellness and jewelry as alternative assets.

Bvlgari’s Valentine’s Day campaign.

Photo: Courtesy of Bvlgari

Gifting and social marketing signals reflect this shift. According to a report by Luxury Society with DLG and Re-Hub, brand-generated content related to the holidays saw a decline in interactions compared to previous years, while user-generated content (UGC) continued to grow, showing that consumers are still talking about brands despite not necessarily responding to their official campaigns. This divergence highlights a key challenge: love-themed festivals are no longer guaranteed to deliver strong returns simply through traditional brand-driven marketing, as consumers increasingly dictate the conversation themselves.

Flower sales are still rising, however. In 2025, Valentine’s Day flower orders on delivery app Meituan increased 120% year-on-year, according to South China Morning Post. Notably, sales of flower and gift bundles rose by over 200%, while creative bouquets saw growth of more than 270%. Yet, behind the impressive numbers lies a sense of fatigue: to many, the routine feels formulaic and the gesture tired. On local social media, a narrative persists that money is more emotionally impactful than a bouquet.

Chen Zheyuan, Piaget’s brand ambassador, wearing the Piaget Possession collection.

Photo: Courtesy of Piaget

“520 and Qixi used to be mass-participation rituals around romantic love, but they’ve become more transactional: discounts, limited drops, live-stream bundles,” Bonhomme says. “You can still sell, but you can’t sell naïveté.”

Luxury brands moves when roses aren’t enough

In this moment of cooling romance, some brands are still capable of speaking love. For its 2025 Qixi campaign, Tiffany & Co. launched a podcast series titled I, the Subject of Love across five Chinese podcast platforms. Instead of focusing solely on romantic partnership, the series explores growth, self-awareness and selfcare. Similarly, the brand’s short film I Am the Subject of Love features ambassadors sharing reflections on their sense of individuality and inner strength.

Then, there’s Loewe. This Qixi, the Spanish house released Say Yes to Love, a five-episode micro-drama (each 45 seconds) created by screenwriter and Chinese cultural consultant Qin Wen, starring local talents Chen Duling and Chen Zheyuan. The narrative weaves themes of chance, choice and fate, each linked to a signature Loewe magpie charm from its Qixi collection.

Loewe’s Qixi mini-series set around the Puzzle bag.

Photo: Courtesy of Loewe

These campaigns are shifting what love marketing is about: less about gesture and more about emotion, autonomy and the multiple forms of connection.

People haven’t stopped loving. But they are asking different questions: what does love mean for me? Does this ritual serve me or overwhelm me? Can love be quieter, more real, more inclusive? Ultimately, campaigns that lean into emotional honesty, the diversity of human relationships and aspirational yet grounded storytelling will chart the next chapter of romance in China.