Retail Leader
U.S. consumers are expected to spend billions more this Valentine’s Day than they did for the holiday last year, according to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights and Analytics.
The NRF in a Jan. 25 release said it anticipated consumers would spend $25.9 billion this year on expenses related to Valentine’s Day, up from the $23.9 billion that consumers spent for the holiday last year. More than half (52%) of the 7,616 U.S. adult consumers surveyed said they would celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, spending an average of $192.80, according to the NRF.
Last year, consumers planned to spend on average around $175 on Valentine’s Day expenses, the NRF said. This year’s planned spending is the second-highest ever recorded by the NRF since it first conducted the survey nearly two decades ago in 2004. Consumers planned to spend the most on the holiday in 2020 when they said they expected to spend about $196 on average.
The increase in spending is expected to come from categories unrelated to romantic relationships. According to the survey, $14 of the $17 increase over 2022 comes from expected spending on pets, friends, co-workers, classmates and teachers.