Consumers will be spending $25.8 billion to celebrate Valentine’s Day today and once again candy, greeting cards and flowers are the top gifts, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
People are increasingly using Valentine’s Day to celebrate all special relationships in their lives, including pets and co-workers. However, they spend the most on significant others, whose gifts will comprise $14.2 billion of total Valentine’s Day spending, up from $13.5 billion in 2023.
“With consumers prioritizing their spouse or significant other this year, retailers expect to see a shift in spending for certain gifting categories,” NRF President & CEO Matthew Shay said.
The top gifts include candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (39%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards (19%). 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, up slightly from 52% last year. The $25.8 billion overall that will be spent celebrating Valentine’s Day is nearly on par with last year’s spending ($25.9 billion). Sixty-two percent of consumers ages 25-34 plan to celebrate this year, more than any other age group.
Online continues to be the most popular way to shop for Valentine’s Day gifts at 40%, up from 35% last year. Other shopping destinations include department stores (33%), discount stores (31%) and florists (17%).
“While shoppers may be spending the most on jewelry, overall, the most popular gifts are the classics – candy and greeting cards,” Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “We’re also seeing continued interest in gifts of experience with about one-third of consumers planning to give a gift of experience this year.”
Among those not celebrating Valentine’s Day, 29% still plan to mark the occasion in some way. Many will treat themselves to something special, while others will plan a get-together or evening out with their single friends or family members.
The survey, conducted Jan. 2-8, asked 8,329 adult consumers about their Valentine’s Day shopping plans. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
