- Nothing like a little Valentine’s Day lovin’
Last night, I made a quick run to my local Pavillions supermarket. It was about 10 p.m. when I pulled into the unusually full parking lot. As soon as I walked into the store, I was bombarded with gigantic balloons proclaiming “I LOVE YOU!!”, tons of bouquets of red roses, an insane amount of heart shaped boxed chocolate, and a plethora of pink and red glitter cards that made my eyes hurt. There must have been about fifteen devoted boyfriends and/or husbands gathered around all the possible gifts, frantically trying to make a decision.
After picking up my much-needed strawberry flavored Dreyer’s popsicles (they are positively divine), while driving home listening to love songs on the radio (all the radio stations were playing the exact same thing), I couldn’t help but ponder the idea of Valentine’s Day — A “holiday” that many Americans, including myself, consider to be ridiculous, and yet, we can’t seem to not celebrate it and society continues to buy into the madness of it all.
Later that night, my curiosity peaked, so I did some research on the internet and found some interesting Valentine’s Day business statistics. It’s no wonder that February 14 is almost as important as Christmas to most retailers (and people in general, in my opinion).
On average, men spend $163 on gifts. Women only spend an average of $85
63% of couples polled around the U.S. plan on celebrating V-Day this year.
The most romantic age group are the 18 to 24 year olds. They tend to spend the most money (Who said young people never have any money!!??).
Flowers, candy, jewelry, and a lovely evening out (in this order) are the most popular gifts given by men.
February 14 is the most lucrative day of the year for 1-800 Flowers. Their sales volume spikes to nearly ten times more than that of a typical day.
According to Hallmark, Valentine’s Day is the second largest card-giving “holiday”. Christmas is the first.
On average, 28,000 U.S. couples become engaged on Valentine’s day. This means roughly 28,000 diamonds are sold just before February 14.
Yup, pretty incredible if you ask me. And we’re supposed to be in a down economy?? Hmmm…to celebrate or not to celebrate?
antiochantidote 