Consumers may spend more for Valentine’s Day

February 12, 2015 Dominic Lill

Retail and shopper marketing agency Savvy, has launched a research report that suggests shoppers plan to spend more this Valentine’s Day.

The data also suggests that retailers should also be prepared for a polarisation of spend in a market characterised by trade-up opportunities at one end, and a scaled-up offer from discounters at the other.

Key findings of the report:

Who will be celebrating the event?

Just under two-fifths of shoppers are planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year.
39% of females plan to mark the occasion versus 36% of men.

Of the shoppers planning to celebrate the event:

In terms of spending more to make the day special, 49% of shoppers were happy to do so.
Trading up – 33% of shoppers said they tend to trade up to buy more expensive food and drinks on the day.
27% of shoppers said that they expect to spend more on the event this year than in 2014.
The research estimates the total value of Valentine’s Day to retailers at £617m in 2015.

What can we expect to receive this year?

The gift men plan to purchase the most is a shop-bought card (41%) followed by a restaurant meal (36%). 8% didn’t plan to buy anything at all.
Women planning to purchase cards from a shop came top (44%) followed by chocolates (33%). 6% weren’t planning to buy anything at all.
30% of all respondents would like to be taken out for a meal at a restaurant.
18% had a romantic getaway on their wish lists.

Alastair Lockhart, insight director at Savvy comments: “Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest trading events for retailers and it seems that the improvements in consumer confidence we’ve seen during the past year are set to translate into higher spending, with just over a quarter of shoppers telling us they plan to spend a little extra this year.”

He continued: “Our analysis does however also suggest a shift in spending patterns this year. At the top end, we anticipate more trading up this year – a great opportunity for retailers – particularly in home cooked meals and flowers.”