Valentine’s Day spending predicted to reach new record
Valentine’s Day spending on significant others is expected to reach a record $14.2 billion, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
“Retailers are ready to help customers this Valentine’s Day with meaningful and memorable gifts,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said. “With consumers prioritizing their spouse or significant other this year, retailers expect to see a shift in spending for certain gifting categories.”
The top gifts include candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (39%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards (19%). New spending records are expected for jewelry ($6.4 billion), flowers ($2.6 billion), clothing ($3 billion) and an evening out ($4.9 billion).
Over half of consumers (53%) plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, on par with 52% last year. Overall, consumers plan to spend a total of $25.8 billion to celebrate Valentine’s Day, similar to last year’s spending and the third highest in the survey’s history. Sixty-two percent of consumers ages 25-34 plan to celebrate this year, more than any other age group.
Consumers expect to spend $185.81 each on average, nearly $8 more than the average Valentine’s Day spending over the last five years.
The survey asked 8,329 adult consumers about their Valentine’s Day shopping plans. It was conducted Jan. 2-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
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