Spending for Valentine’s Day is expected to be relatively flat this year, though people are planning to spend more on significant others this year than last (compared to spending on others – pets, friends, and co-workers, for example). The findings are from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics survey. This year, they asked 8,329 consumers about their Valentine’s Day shopping plans; they conducted the survey the week of January 2nd.
Online continues to be the most popular destination to shop for Valentine’s Day gifts at 40%, up from 35% last year, according to the survey. Consumers also plan to shop at department stores (33%), discount stores (31%) and florists (17%).
The top gifts include candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (39%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards (19%). New spending records are expected for jewelry ($6.4 billion), flowers ($2.6 billion), clothing ($3 billion) and an evening out ($4.9 billion).
“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.”
More details can be found on the National Retail Federation website.
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