America’s National Retail Federation has predicted a record Valentine’s Day season in 2020, as consumers continue to broaden the range of people they buy cards and gifts for.
The annual survey, which canvassed the opinion of 7,267 consumers, has revealed that those celebrating the holiday plan to spend an average of $196.31, up 21% on last year. Total spending is expected to reach $27.4 billion, up 32% from last year’s record $20.7 billion.
The large increase in average spending appears to be partly due to a continued trend of consumers buying presents for friends, family, co-workers and pets as well as their significant other. The number of people celebrating Valentine’s Day is 55%, an increase of 4% on 2019.
Spouses and partners account for the biggest share of Valentine’s gift-giving (52%), but that is down from 61% a decade ago. The amount spent on co-workers and pets has doubled in the same period (7% and 6%, respectively). Almost a third (27%) of those surveyed intend to buy Valentine’s gifts for their pets, up from 17% in 2010.
“We’ve always heard of puppy love, but pets are definitely seeing a larger share of Valentine’s Day spending,” said Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy for Prosper Insights.
“Husbands and wives don’t need to be worried if their spouses are buying a Valentine’s Day gift for someone else – most likely it’s greeting cards for their children’s class at school, flowers for a family member or maybe a treat for the family dog.”
