British spending on Valentine’s Day spending is set to continue on an upwards trend, with the 2015 total expected to exceed £1.9 billion when the figures are released. Over recent years huge increases in consumer spending for the romantic holiday have been seen and this newfound hike does not look like as if it will be holding up.
The past three years have seen an incredible rise in spending, with figures standing at £880 million, £978 million and £1.3 billion across 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. The average spend by the British public currently stands at £41, however there is a 36 per cent difference between the amounts spent for men and women.
Research from a recent Ladbrokes, gathered from their ‘how romantic are you’ quiz, to find out how romantic their customers are, has found that on average men pay up £50 on their partners, whereas women only see £32 as a necessary amount.
However, the study conducted by Ladbrokes also found 10 per cent of those asked would be willing to spend over £100 on their spouse. The financial aspect for a day heralded by many as superficial is astronomical as all Source 1 industries revel in the mass boom in spending. Known as ‘Red Saturday’, the 7th February this year saw a 55 per cent increase in search terms based around romance, dating and Valentine’s Day as consumers searched the internet for the perfect present. The restaurant industry is set to be the highest earner from the romantic celebrations, bringing in a huge £557 million in trade and as expected, jewellery and gift stores will post combined numbers of approximately £460 million. One third of those purchasing items for their partner see a card being enough, and the greetings card industry will reap the benefits with an £57 million intake for one day, sitting second to Christmas for their biggest holiday.
Although the British spending may seem excessive, the United States of America boasts an average spend of over $140, converting to more than £50 per person against the United Kingdom.
Spending for Valentine’s Day 2015 is set to exceed $19 billion (£12.3 billion) across the USA, a growth of $2 billion on the previous year. Since 2009, there has been an average increase of $40 in the spending by American citizens, if the projected figures are proved correct once data has been released by the relevant industries. Both sides of the Atlantic have seen huge increases in the spending for Valentine’s Day despite the current global economy and this trend looks set to continue for years to come.
