It’s that time of the year again and Cupid has his bow and arrow ready to hit a few folks with a case of the love bug. Bundled up with hats and scarves to weather February’s frigid air and massive snowstorms, the wave of red and pink balloons, bouquets and fuzzy teddy bears provide a welcome warming of the heart. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and as one of the biggest gift-giving holidays of the year, retailers are stocking up on traditional and non-traditional February 14th favorites. However, shoppers are showing a love for their pocketbooks as well, making budget-friendly holiday spending decisions.
According to BIGinsight’s 2013 Valentine’s Day spending survey, the average person planning to celebrate the holiday will spend $130.97 on flowers, candy, cards, and more; showing a slight increase from $126.03 last year. Overall spending is expected to reach a total of $18.6 billion.
When it comes to gift ideas, the average man is willing to pull out all the stops for his sweetheart spending approximately $175.61 on jewelry, clothing, or an evening out while his counterpart will spend an estimated $88.78. But it’s about more than just your significant other, our survey shows that the average person will spend $26.46 on family members; $8.49 on friends; $6.00 on children’s classmates or teachers; $5.12 on coworkers; and $5.72 on furry four-legged friends.
Where will this year’s value-minded consumers be purchasing Valentine’s Day gifts? Many will be buying gifts at discount stores (39.6%) while others will be shopping at department stores (33.2%), specialty clothing stores (7.5%), floral shops (19.6%), specialty stores such as electronics or greeting card stores (22.9%), jewelry stores (11.2%) or catalogs (2.6%). The biggest change from last year is that 26.3% of shoppers are planning to purchase gifts online, up from last year’s 19.3%.
This Valentine’s Day shoppers want to show appreciation for their loved ones but they don’t want to break their piggy banks. NRF’s Senior Director of Media Relations Kathy Grannis explains what gifts consumers are being cautious about this year and why. Watch the segment below.