Valentine’s Day is a key date in the retail calendar, presenting unique opportunities to engage with customers, make sales, and gather crucial consumer behavior data. The shopping holiday has seen a wave of dynamic changes in recent years, from experiencing a sharp downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic to booming increasingly in the years following.
These 18 Valentine’s Day spending statistics offer a comprehensive overview of the Valentine’s Day industry landscape—including how much money is spent on Valentine’s and factors that will shape 2024 shopping trends.
Key Valentine’s Day Spending Statistics Takeaways:
- Valentine’s Day spending is recovering: US consumers spent $26 billion in 2023, an 8.37% increase from the previous year, signaling a strong comeback post-pandemic.
- Candy is the most popular gift: With 57% of shoppers buying candy, it remains the top choice for Valentine’s Day gifting, consistent with 2022 trends.
- Non-romantic gifts are on the rise: $7.1 billion went toward presents for acquaintances like teachers and co-workers in 2023, including a record 32% of consumers buying for their pets.
- Online is the most popular place to shop: Ecommerce led the way with 35% of Valentine’s Day purchases made online in 2023, surpassing department stores, discount stores, and local businesses.
- Many recipients want memories, not things: 41% expressed a preference for experiential gifts this Valentine’s Day, along with 32% planning to buy a gift of this type.
Valentine’s Day Spending Stats and Consumer Behavior
1. Consumers spent an estimated $26 billion on Valentine’s Day-related purchases in 2023
Valentine’s Day spending in the US was expected to reach approximately $26 billion in 2023, marking a significant increase of about $2 billion from the previous year, or an 8.37% year-over-year (YoY) increase. As Valentine’s sales steadily recover after taking a dive during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2024 spending is likely to be strong.
Last year’s total spend comes close to the all-time high of $27.4 billion in 2020, which the NRF attributes to strong consumer finances, high employment rates, and an increased trend toward gifting. That said, revenue in 2023 was higher than the previous five-year annual average.
2. Over half of the US population celebrates Valentine’s Day
Fifty-two percent of consumers celebrated Valentine’s Day in 2023, marking a slight decline from the previous year. This is part of a decreasing trend observed since 2007, when 63% of respondents planned to celebrate. Surprisingly, 28% of those not celebrating still plan to mark the occasion, showcasing the significance of the holiday.
3. The average consumer spent $192.80 on Valentine’s Day shopping in 2023, but gift recipients expected less
In 2023, consumers spent an average of $192.80 on Valentine’s Day-related items, according to NRF. However, when asked about their expectations for what their valentines would spend on gifts, only 9% anticipated that their partner would pay over $100. The most popular response (35%) was a more modest $1 to $49.
4. 1 in 5 Americans would go into debt for a Valentine’s Day purchase
Insights from a WalletHub report show that one in five Americans believes a Valentine’s Day gift is worth going into credit card debt for. Notably, men are 45% more likely to pay by credit card vs cash, potentially influencing the sale of high-value gifts targeted toward women.
5. Consumers spent $7.1 billion on non-romantic Valentine’s Day gifts last year, with 32% buying for pets
Valentine’s Day is not limited to romantic partners—increasingly, more consumers are celebrating friends, co-workers, pets, classmates, and teachers.
Total spending on gifts for these groups saw substantial growth, reaching $7.1 billion in 2023, up from $5.2 billion in 2022. This trend reflects a post-pandemic return to in-person socializing, working, and schooling.
This shift also highlights the inclusion of pets in the celebration, as a record 32% of people said that they plan to purchase a Valentine’s Day gift for their pets.
6. Consumers aged 35–44 spend the most of any age demographic on Valentine’s Day
Consumers between the ages of 35 and 44 lead Valentine’s Day spending in 2023, averaging $335.71 per person. This represents approximately $142.91 more than the average consumer celebrating the holiday, making them a key contributor to Valentine’s Day spending statistics.
7. 35% of Valentine’s Day shoppers bought gifts online in 2023
Online was the most popular Valentine’s Day shopping destination in 2023, with 35% of shoppers planning to buy gifts via ecommerce. NRF data shows that this was closely followed by department stores at 34% and discount stores at 31%, highlighting the importance of convenience, variety, and value.
The fourth and fifth most popular shopping destinations were local small businesses (17%) and florists (16%).
Valentine’s Day Gift Preferences and Trends
8. The flower industry ranks as the highest-performing in Valentine’s Day email marketing
Email campaigns play a pivotal role in promoting Valentine’s Day shopping, with the floral industry leading the way in email marketing efforts. The average number of Valentine’s Day email campaigns sent between Jan. 15 and Feb. 14 for different categories paints a clear picture:
- Flowers: 38.3
- Mass merchants: 21
- Chocolate: 21.3
- Jewelry: 7.4
On top of its higher frequency of campaigns, flower businesses’ retail marketing emails tend to have the highest engagement of any category, with an average 17.2% open rate.
9 .Candy is the most popular Valentine’s Day gift, with 57% of shoppers expecting to buy it
NRF Valentine’s Day shopping surveys also found that the top five gifts consumers give on the holiday are candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (37%), an evening out (32%), and jewelry (21%). This lineup is identical to 2022’s most popular categories, with roughly the same percentages of consumers expecting to buy each type of gift.
10. The most popular Valentine’s Day gift categories have increased in price by up to 6.2%
Inflation has affected the prices of popular Valentine’s Day shopping categories in 2024. Comparing Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, the cost of these common gifts have seen sizable increases, potentially affecting consumers’ purchasing power and buying decisions:
- Candy: +6.2%
- Flowers: +3.3%
- Cards: +2.3%
- Jewelry: +6.2%
- Dining out: +5.3%
11. 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year
Valentine’s Day is the second-largest holiday for greeting cards according to Hallmark. The company reports that approximately 145 million Valentine’s cards are given annually, a figure that doesn’t even include the multitude of packaged kids’ valentines commonly used for classroom exchanges.
12. Consumers spent $6.2 billion on jewelry last Valentine’s Day, with women accounting for 14%
Valentine’s Day jewelry spending reached an all-time high of $6.2 billion in 2023. While men are more likely to plan to give jewelry, women are also contributing to this trend—14% of women plan to gift jewelry, a higher percentage than ever before, and they expect to spend twice as much as the previous year.
Valentine’s Day Consumer Attitudes
13. Consumers associate Valentine’s Day with ‘shopping’ 131.17% more than with ‘love’
When analyzing over 80,000 social media posts using “#Valentinesday” and “#Valentinesday2023,” researchers found that the most associated term was “shop.”
Interestingly, “shop” and “gift” were identified 131.17% more frequently than the term “love,” showing a strong consumer focus on shopping during the lead-up to Valentine’s Day.
14. Over a third of people report feeling let down by their partner’s Valentine’s Day efforts
Among those who have celebrated Valentine’s Day with a partner, 34% express having experienced disappointment in their partner’s efforts to celebrate. Notably, nearly half (46%) of women have felt let down, compared to 21% of men. Disappointment of this kind is also more common among divorced individuals (44%) compared to those who are married (30%).
(Source: YouGov)
Valentine’s Day Experiences
15. 41% of Valentine’s Day recipients want experience-related gifts, while only 32% plan to give them
Forty-one percent of people surveyed said that they would love to receive a gift of experience, which includes activities such as concerts, spa treatments, or travel. This mirrors the post-COVID rise in consumer spending on experiences year-round and suggests a growing interest in entertainment over physical goods.
That said, only 32% of gift-givers planned to buy experience-related gifts for their 2023 valentines.
(Source: National Retail Federation)
16. Valentine’s Day travel increased by 45% in 2023
Valentine’s Day has long been a popular holiday for travel, and its appeal as a travel occasion is steadily rising. According to a report from Allianz, searches for 2023 Valentine’s Day travel plans increased by a substantial 45% compared to the previous year—providing a boost in Valentine’s Day spending for airlines, hotels, travel agencies, and destination attractions.
17. The average Valentine’s Day dinner cost $121 last year
The average cost of a Valentine’s Day date night at a restaurant (including tip) reached $121 in 2023, marking a more than 75% increase over the past five years. This surge in price has continued to rise, and, on top of consumers’ split perspectives on the value of dining out, will likely have an impact on 2024 Valentine’s celebrations.
(Source: Toast)
18. Over a third of consumers consider dining out a bad deal
While dining at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day is a tradition for many, WalletHub’s report also shows that 36% of people have a different perspective, saying they consider it to be a bad deal. This sentiment might lead consumers to explore alternative Valentine’s Day efforts, such as unique presents, travel, at-home cooking, or gifts of other experiences.
Bottom line
Valentine’s Day represents a pivotal period for the retail, hospitality, and travel sectors. Consumer behaviors and spending patterns during this holiday are highly dynamic, often shifting in response to emerging trends and changing frequently since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monitoring Valentine’s Day spending statistics and how much money is spent on Valentine’s can help businesses effectively engage with customers and capitalize on Valentine’s Day sales opportunities.
