Online retailers are beginning to capitalize on the YouTube craze, offering up a variety of video-based promotions, reports the New York Times.

1-800-Flowers, for example, today launched its "Video Valentine" service, where users can upload photos, write messages and choose musical themes and graphics. The site then meshes the various elements into a 60-second clip.

The company is also asking customers to submit filmed testimonials about instances when a gift from the site has caused or highlighted a reunion in the customer's life. The most popular videos will be used in television commercials.

"The scary thing is that we don't know the financial implications of this," Jim McCann, the chief executive of 1-800-Flowers, told the Times. "Does it have any benefit for sales? I can't answer that. We're just going on a leap here."

One company, Blendtec, already reportedly has seen an uptick in business after creating a video promotion. The blender manufacturer and seller started the promo late last year by posting videos of the company's CEO blending random objects, including wood, marbles and his iPod on its own site, WillItBlend.com, as well as on YouTube,  and promoting them on various message boards and blogs. Reportedly, the company's 30 videos have been viewed more than 11 million times, and sales are booming.

Another retailer, Golfsmith.com, is using videos for consumer reviews. Not only does the company hope the videos will generate interest, it also thinks they will help increase internet traffic by increasing the chances of Google and other search engines pointing users to Golfsmith when they type a product name into a search box.