Valentine’s Day Spending Statistics – What’s The Price Of Love?

How much do people spend on their significant others for Valentine's Day? Find out with the latest statistics here.

February 14th is a special day for lovers the world over, with couples coming together to celebrate their love for one another.

And each year billions of dollars are spent on Valentine's Day gifts such as flowers, chocolates, and jewelry, as well as candlelit dinners and romantic getaways to mark the occasion.

But how much should we be spending on our significant other? And what shoud we be getting for them?

To answer these questions we thought we'd take a look at the latest Valentine's Day statistics and trends to get an insight into what lovers are really spending on each other.

And to do this we analysed surveys from the following retail companies along with other reports to get an idea of what Valentine's Day is all about.

Valentine's Day Highlights

Before we go into more detail on what was in the various surveys and reports, here's a Valentine's Day spending infographic featuring the key findings.

How Much Are Lovers Spending For Valentine's Day?

In 2020 it was estimated that a total of $27.4 billion dollars would be spent on Valentine's Day in the United States (National Retail Federation).

And for the 55% of Americans that were planning to celebrate it, the average Valentine's Day spend per person was $196.31.

This amount has increased quite dramatically over the years, being up 21% from the 2019 figure of $161.96 per person and a whopping 90% increase from an average spend of $103 in 2010.

Men were the most likely to buy a Valentine's Day gift for their lover, with 74% of them planning to do so compared to only 62% of women (Finder).

And men spend much more on gifts too ($291.15 per person), which is almost 3 times as much as the girls were plannning to spend ($106.22) (National Retail Federation).

Valentine's Day was the biggest deal for people between the ages of 25 and 44, with both the 25-34 ($307.51) and the 35-44 ($358.78) age ranges spending over $300 per person on average on their lovers.

And greeting cards companies must love Valentine's Day too, as 43% of us plan to buy our lovers a Valentine's Day card at an estimated total cost of $1.3 billion (National Retail Federation).

How Much Is Spent Overall On Certain Valentine's Day Gifts?

When you think of Valentine's Day gifts you typically imagine things like chocolates, flowers, jewelry and romantic candelit meals, and this is reflected in the Valentine's Day gifts people are most commonly buying.

For instance, jewelry was the Valentine's Day gift category that had the highest total planned spend of $5.8 billion, even though only 21% of people were going to gift jewelry to their lovers (National Retail Federation).

An evening out together was the next highest total, with the 34% that were planning to do this expecting to spend a total of $4.3 billion.

New clothes was the gift choice for 20% of people at a total cost of $2.9 billion, and the 52% of people that were giving candy and chocolates were going to spend an estimated $2.4 billion.

While a nice bunch of flowers was a planned gift for 37% of lovers, with an expected total spend of $2.3 billion.

And the 19% who were taking the safe option by getting a gift card were contributing to a total cost of $2 billion. 

What Are Guys Getting Their Girls For Valentine's Day?

We know that guys are more likely to buy gifts and spend almost three times more than their girls for Valentine's Day, but what are they buying for them?

Well according to the National Retail Federation's Valentine's Day survey, flowers was the top choice with 58% of men planning to get some for their partners.

This was closely followed by chocolates and candy, which was a planned gift for half of the men.

While 38% of men were planning to treat their ladies to a romantic evening out, and 33% were pushing the boat out with some new jewelry.

Then there were the brave 19% of men that were choosing to buy their girl some clothing for Valentine's Day, although this may include sexy lingerie and nightwear that will be a gift for him too!

And finally, 16% were opting for a gift card, which doesn't strike me as the most romantic (or wise) choice! 

What Are Girls Getting Their Guys For Valentines Day?

Women tend to receive more than give when it comes to Valentine's Day gifts, but there are some good girls that like to treat their guy to a little something too.

And the main gift choice among them was candy, with 55% of women saying they planned to get some for their lovers (National Retail Federation).

While 30% of women wanted to take their guy on a Valentine's Day evening out.

Then there were the 22% that were planning to give them a gift card so they could buy something for themselves, and the 21% that were treating them to some new clothes.

And quite surprisingly there were 16% of women who were planning to get their man some flowers, although these figures include girls buying for their girlfriends and lovers too.

Who Else Are We Buying Valentine's Day Gifts For?

It's not just our partners or spouses that get to feel the love on Valentine's Day, as many people also buy gifts for their friends, family, or even their pets to celebrate.

As the National Retail Federation survey found that out of the $196.31 average spend for Valentine's Day, only 52% was on a gift for a significant other.

The rest was spent on other family members (15%), friends (7%), their children's classmates or teachers (7%), coworkers (7%), pets (6%), and others (5%).

In fact, there were 27% of people that said they'd be buying their pet a Valentine's Day gift, at a total cost of $1.7 billion!

And there were plenty of underhand shenanigans going on during Valentine's Day too, as 35.5% of men said they planned to buy Valentine's Day gifts for more than one partner (Finder).

While the women weren't whiter than white either, with 21% of them admitting they'd be doing the same!

Where Are We Buying Our Valentine's Day Gifts?

When it comes to our preferred way to shop for Valentine's Day gifts, department stores were the most popular choice, with 36% planning to get their gifts in one in 2020 (National Retail Federation).

Discount stores were next up with 32% of people planning to shop for a bargain.

While online stores were also popular with 32% who wanted to shop online and save themselves the hassle.

Then there were the 19% that planned to shop in a specialty store, 17% who were buying up flowers in a florist, and 15% that planned to use small local businesses.

And finally there were 11% each that either shopped for clothes in a clothing store or visited a jewelry store for their Valentine's gifts.

While the Finder survey found that Amazon did especially well on Valentine's Day, with 37% of those surveyed saying they would use Amazon to buy a Valentine's gift this year. 

What Are People That Don't Celebrate Valentine's Day Doing Instead?

Of the 45% of Americans that said they didn't plan to celebrate Valentine's Day, 29% said they still planned to mark the occasion in some way (National Retail Federation).

With the most popular way of doing this being by treating themselves on the day, with 13% opting for some self-love and care.

While 11% planned to get together with their friends or family, and 4% planned to give a friend or loved one an anti-Valentines gift.

And it was the youngsters that were most likely to rebel against Valentine's Day traditions.

As 57% of 18-24 year-olds said they were planning to mark the occasion but not celebrate it, with 35% of them treating themselves and 25% planning to get together with their friends instead of a partner.

While those in the 25-34 year-old age bracket were most likely to buy an anti-Valentines gift, with 8% of them planning to do so for their friends or loved ones.

Rounding Up

Valentine's Day can be a wonderful time of year to celebrate your partner and to pamper them and make them feel special.

However, it can also be hard to know how much you should be spending and what you should be buying for them.

So I hope these latest Valentine's Day spending statistics and trends have given you more of an idea of what to get when 2021 rolls around.

And helps you enjoy your day together with your significant other without the pressure or worry.

Sources:

https://nrf.com/insights/holiday-and-seasonal-trends/valentines-day/valentines-day-data-center

https://www.finder.com/valentines-day-statistics

https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/confident-consumers-and-broader-buying-lead-record-valentines-day