This year, Valentine’s Day expenditure is expected to reach $25.9 billion, up from $23.9 billion in 2022, making it one of the biggest years ever for spending.
The annual study, which was just issued by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, predicts that consumers will spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, up from $23.9 billion in 2022 and one of the largest spending years ever.
More than half of consumers (52%) intend to celebrate, spending an average of $192.80. This is an increase from $175.41 in 2022, and it is the second-highest total since NRF and Prosper began tracking Valentine’s Day spending in 2004. While spending on significant partners and family members is similar to last year, many consumers want to express gratitude for the other meaningful connections in their lives. Gifts for pets, friends, and coworkers, as well as students or teachers, account for $14 of the $17 rise in per-person spending.
The average budget for gifts and other Valentine’s Day purchases for people in the 35 to 44 age bracket is $335.71, which is $142.91 more than the budget of the typical consumer who will be celebrating the event.
Similar to previous years, the most popular place to shop for Valentine’s Day gifts is online (35%), followed by department stores (34%), bargain stores (31%), and specialized stores (18%).
The most popular presents are candy (57%), cards (40%), flowers (37%), a night out (32%), an evening out, jewelry (21%), gift cards (20%), and apparel (19%). Americans intend to spend over $5.5 billion on jewelry and about $4.4 billion on special occasions. One-third (32%) intend to give a gift of experience, up from 26% last year and the highest level since NRF and Prosper began asking about this topic in 2017.
Even among those who do not intend to celebrate Valentine’s Day, 28% will commemorate the event in some way, such as by shopping for non-gifts, Valentine’s treating themselves to something special, or organizing a get-together or evening out with single friends and family members.
NRF, the retail industry’s top authority, and voice conducted this poll of 7,616 U.S. adult consumers from January 3 to January 11. The margin of error for the survey is 1.1 percentage points.
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