This Week's Obsession: Valentine's Day Gifting
Famous for being a day to shower your significant other with romantic gifts, Valentine’s Day is one of the most celebrated holidays of the year. Here we’ve brought together a comprehensive overview of Valentine’s Day industry statistics and trends including shifts in production, employment, consumer sentiment, consumer spending, COVID-19 implications, floristry practices, and floriculture both Globally and in the United States. We’ve also detailed the history and origins of Valentine’s Day dating back to Ancient Rome.
The History & Origins of Valentine’s Day
The exact origins of Valentine’s Day are still disputed by historians, but the festival seems to have come from Roman times.
St. Valentine
The most commonly believed origin of Valentine’s Day concerns a Roman priest named Valentine. In the 3rd Century AD, Rome was ruled by Emperor Claudius II. One of Claudius’ decrees was that marriage should be outlawed for young men because it would make them better soldiers.
This policy was unpopular, so Valentine secretly continued to carry out wedding ceremonies. Once Valentine’s defiance was discovered, Claudius sentenced him to death. It’s here that things get a bit murky with conflicting legends about the origins of Valentine’s Day.
According to some traditions, Valentine was imprisoned and fell in love with his jailer’s daughter while the priest was awaiting execution. To confess his love for her before he died, Valentine left her a note that ended with “From your Valentine”.
Other legends claim that Valentine tried to help imprisoned Christians escape from the Romans, but was caught. This version of the tale can sometimes be combined with Valentine’s prison romance described above.
Valentine was executed on the 14th of February in 269 AD, becoming a martyr and a saint in the eyes of the Christian Church. In 496 AD, the Roman Pope Gelasius I declared that the 14th of February should be celebrated as St. Valentine’s Day.
Pagan Origins
But there is another suggestion for the origins of Valentine’s Day. Before Christianity became the dominant religion in Europe, the Romans celebrated a pagan festival called Lupercalia. This was held on the 15th of February to celebrate fertility along with Romulus and Remus – the mythical founders of Rome.
This festival involved a goat being sacrificed by the Luperci priests. The hide would be dipped in blood, and women would volunteer to be touched by these strips with the belief that this would improve their fertility.
Another tradition of this festival involved a large urn, which was filled with the names of young women. A group of young men would then pick names from the urn at random before spending the day with their chosen lady. In many cases, these unions would eventually lead to marriage.
The Lupercalia festival was outlawed by Gelasius as part of Christian suppression of pagan religion. St. Valentine’s Day replaced the festival and has been celebrated ever since.
Historical Valentine’s
The first known mention of Valentine’s Day came in 1375 AD from Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most famous English poets in history. In 1415, a French duke called Charles was imprisoned after the Battle of Agincourt. While incarcerated, Charles wrote a touching Valentine’s Day poem to his wife.
Our modern concept of Valentine’s Day, much like some of our modern Christmas traditions, comes from the Victorians. During the 18th Century, it became common practice to send Valentine’s Day cards, which were produced en masse.
Today, Valentine’s Day is mainly celebrated across the world in many countries. It’s no longer a Christian tradition and is even celebrated in parts of Asia and the Middle East.
Here’s a breakdown of where Valentine’s Day is celebrated throughout the world:
|
United States and the Americas |
|
|
United States |
Costa Rica |
|
Canada |
Dominican Republic |
|
Mexico |
El Salvador |
|
Brazil |
Guatemala |
|
Colombia |
Puerto Rico |
|
Europe |
|
|
United Kingdom |
Finland |
|
Ireland |
Greece |
|
France |
Norway |
|
Italy |
Poland |
|
Spain |
Portugal |
|
Denmark |
Romania |
|
Estonia |
Scandinavia |
|
Asia and the Middle East |
|
|
Afghanistan |
Malaysia |
|
Bangladesh |
Pakistan |
|
China |
The Philippines |
|
India |
Saudi Arabia |
|
Iran |
Singapore |
|
Israel |
South Korea |
|
Japan |
Taiwan |
|
Lebanon |
Source: Wikipedia.org
Consumer Spending on Valentine’s Day
There’s no question that Valentine’s Day is big business. In our modern consumer culture, the money spent on Valentine’s Day is staggering. Here are some key facts:
- According to surveys carried out by the National Retail Foundation (NRF), American consumers planned to spend $21.8 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2021. This figure is a reduction from Valentine’s Day spending in 2020, most likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Based on historical figures provided by the NRF, here’s a table of spending totals for Valentine’s Day in the United States over the past 15 years. The amount has fluctuated over the years, with a record jump in 2020 before a reduction in 2021:
|
Year |
Total Spending |
|
2007 |
$16.9 billion |
|
2008 |
$17 billion |
|
2009 |
$14.7 billion |
|
2010 |
$14.1 billion |
|
2011 |
$15.7 billion |
|
2012 |
$17.6 billion |
|
2013 |
$18.6 billion |
|
2014 |
$17.3 billion |
|
2015 |
$18.9 billion |
|
2016 |
$19.7 billion |
|
2017 |
$18.2 billion |
|
2018 |
$19.6 billion |
|
2019 |
$20.7 billion |
|
2020 |
$27.4 billion |
|
2021 |
$21.8 billion |
- The amount that Americans spend per person on Valentine’s Day has fluctuated over the past few years as well, based on data from the NRF. This average spending increased steadily from 2017 to 2020 before dropping in 2021.
|
Year |
Total Spending per person |
|
2017 |
$136.57 |
|
2018 |
$143.56 |
|
2019 |
$161.96 |
|
2020 |
$196.31 |
|
2021 |
$164.76 |
Men participating in Valentine’s Day spent an average of $231, while women planned to spend an average of approximately $101.
- This Valentine’s Day spending is distributed across several products and industries. Let’s look at the 2021 spending figures to find out where Americans are spending their Valentine’s Day dollars:
|
Category |
Percentage of spending |
|
Candy |
54% |
|
Greetings cards |
44% |
|
Special celebration or dinner at home |
41% |
|
Flowers |
36% |
|
Evening out |
24% |
|
Gift cards |
21% |
|
Clothing |
20% |
|
Jewelry |
18% |
|
Other |
12% |
- The majority of Valentine’s Day spending happens online, although some consumers still visit physical stores or local businesses to purchase gifts.
|
Spending location |
Percentage of spending |
|
Online |
38% |
|
Department store |
29% |
|
Discount store |
28% |
|
Specialty store |
17% |
|
Local store or small business |
17% |
- In the UK, Valentine’s Day spending in 2021 was estimated to total approximately £926 million. This is a 36% decline from 2020’s staggering figure of £1.45 billion.
- The average UK consumer spent around £23 per person on Valentine’s Day gifts in 2021. This was a drop of over £10 from 2020’s data (£35 per person). Valentine’s Day spending per consumer in the UK has dropped by 17% over the past few years as UK shoppers spent an average of £28 per person on Valentine’s Day in 2018.
Sources: https://www.petalrepublic.com/valentines-day-statistics/
