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Valentine’s Day Spending is Expected to Rise Among US Consumers to About $26 Billion

Iesha February 9, 2023 News Leave a comment

The National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics predict that consumers will spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, up $2 billion from last year at $23.9 billion, one of the largest spending years on record.

In the US, over 7,616 adult consumers were surveyed from Jan 3 to Jan 11.

“Valentine’s Day is a special occasion to shop for the people we care most about,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “This year, as consumers embrace spending on friends and loved ones, retailers are ready to help customers celebrate Valentine’s Day with memorable gifts at affordable prices.”

The average customer will spend $192.80 on festivities, which is more than half (52%) of consumers –t he second-highest amount since NRF and Prosper began keeping track of Valentine’s Day spending in 2004; this is an increase from $175.41 in 2022.

Although consumers spend more on significant others and family members than last year, many are looking to show appreciation for other meaningful relationships. $14 of the $17 increase in per-person spending comes from pets, friends, coworkers, teachers, and classmates.

People aged 35 to 44 plan to spend more money than other age groups, or $142.91 more than the typical consumer.

Similarly to recent years, 35% of Valentine’s Day gifts are purchased online, followed by 34% in department stores, 31% in discount stores, and 18% in specialty stores.

The top gifts include candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (37%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (21%), gift cards (20%), and clothing (19%).

More than $5.5 billion will be spent on jewelry, while over $4.4 billion will be spent on special occasions.

Since 2017, around one-third (32%) of participants (up from 26% last year) want to offer a gift of experience.

“Men, in particular, are more likely to give a gift of experience compared with last year,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “Another notable finding is more than half of consumers say they will take advantage of sales and promotions as they celebrate Valentine’s Day this year.”