U.S. consumers to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day: NRF

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
Feb 2, 2023

U.S. consumers are expected to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2023, up from $23.9 billion in 2022, data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) has revealed.

The leading retail industry group said more than half of consumers plan to celebrate and will spend an average of $192.80, up from $175.41 in 2022. The increase comes from gifts for pets, friends and co-workers, along with classmates or teachers.

By age, consumers aged 35 to 44 plan to outspend other age groups, allocating $335.71 on average for gifts and other Valentine’s Day items. That’s approximately $142.91 more than the average consumer celebrating the holiday.

To get those gifts, 35% of consumers will shop online. Similarly, 34% will shop in department stores, 31% in discount stores, while another 18% will consult specialty stores. 

The top gifts include candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), and flowers (37%). A close 32% will also dish out on an evening out, up from 26% last year and the highest since NRF and Prosper started asking this question in 2017. 

Meanwhile, 21% will spend on jewelry, 20% on gift cards and another 19% on clothing. Americans plan to spend more than $5.5 billion on jewelry and nearly $4.4 billion on a special evening out.

"Men, in particular, are more likely to give a gift of experience compared with last year,” said Prosper executive vice president of strategy Phil Rist.

“Another notable finding is more than half of consumers say they will take advantage of sales and promotions as they celebrate Valentine’s Day this year."