The Economics Behind Valentine’s Day
Delaney Wimmer
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, millions of people throughout the U.S. are opening up their wallets to an expensive night. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Valentine’s Day is the fourth-holiday people spend the most money on. The year 2020 is predicted to set a new spending record of $27.4 billion, an increase from $20.7 billion in 2019.
around Valentine’s Day. Marketers and companies have taken advantage of the idea of signaling to create an entire market, which has proven successful as 55% of Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day. This idea of signaling involves the message behind gifts and how the importance of this message influences consumers to purchase gifts. Professor Chris Coyne introduces this idea of signaling along with other economic principals found on Valentine’s Day in his video "
In addition to the portion of the population spending for this day, the amount being spent is immense as well. The average person will spend $196.31 on all Valentine’s Day activities, an increase from 2019 of $161.96. It is also found that men spend almost twice as much as women do for this particular holiday. These purchases are not exclusive to solely spouses, but many people buy gifts for family members, friends, co-workers, pets, and themselves. Even those without a special someone for Valentine’s Day spend; one-third of singles buy a little something for themselves.
Shoppers are spending most of their money on “traditional” gifts. A predicted $5.8 billion will be spent on jewelry, $4.3 on a night out, $2.4 billion on various candies, $2.3 billion on flowers, and $1.3 on cards. The majority of these purchases are made at department or grocery stores, however, online shopping has become much more popular in recent years.
People are always looking for a way to make this day just as special, but less weight on their wallet. There are many ways to create Valentine’s Day that doesn’t have such a high price tag. Many restaurants have Valentine’s Day discounts or two-for-one meals. Cooking at home, even a more expensive home-cooked meal, can be cheaper than eating out. For those looking to give significant others a bouquet of flowers, one suggestion is to buy a single “statement” rose over an entire bouquet to cut the cost. Purchasing flowers from florists can also be pricy, so buy flowers at your local grocery store for a cheaper yet still elegant option. In addition, rather than paying for the delivery of flowers, skip the delivery man and do this part yourself. Although a little more unconventional, many find themselves celebrating after the date has already passed. Grocery stores such as Walgreens, Walmart, or Target mark down the “leftovers” typically between 50-90 percent within days. Being more aware of how much you’re spending and the cheaper options available can help you save money this upcoming Valentine’s Day.
Works Cited
“14 Ways to Save on Valentine's Day.” Clark Howard, 7 Feb. 2020, clark.com/deals-money-saving-advice/ways-to-save-on-valentines-day/.Amadeo, Kimberly. “Shoppers Feeling the Love This Valentine's Day.” The Balance, The Balance, 7 Feb. 2020, www.thebalance.com/happy-valentine-s-day-retailers-feeling-the-love-3306043.
Hedberg, Tim. “A Free Market Valentine's Day.” America's Future Foundation, 14 Feb. 2012, americasfuture.org/a-free-market-valentines-day/.
Shearman, J. Craig, et al. “Confident Consumers and Broader Buying Lead to Record Valentine's Day Spending Plans.” NRF, 30 Jan. 2020, nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/confident-consumers-and-broader-buying-lead-record-valentines-day.
Very nice blog post
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your multiple representations of data, I feel like this really does apply to everyone because a majority of people on Valentine's day want to make the most of the moment with the ones that they care about the most. Do you think this applies to different cultures around the world too, or just the US?
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this post, I had an idea on the consumerism on Valentine's Day, but after seeing the numbers behind the gifts we give to those we love, it made me surprised. In addition, the advertisement that goes behind this holiday is one of the main reasons to why we, as an economy, spend so much on this holiday.
ReplyDeleteI loved being able to see this side of the holiday in your article. It really shows how this holiday, that seems very out of nowhere and doesn't have much reason behind it, has convinced people they need to do something special. I think the part you added on at the end about people going to the store after the holiday was great to see and serves a good reminder that the thought is still there, even if gifts aren't given on Feb. 14th.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this article because with Valentines Day tomorrow I had no idea that it was the fourth holiday people spend on not to mention Black Friday and Christmas being one and two. At the end of the blog I agree that there are many cheap ways to do Valentines Day like restaurants 2 for 1 dinners or buying a single rose or bouquet of flowers. Overall, this is a good blog post for Valentines Day since it's tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people, including myself, consider Valentines to be a "corporate holiday". One that is manufactured for the sheer profit. Would you consider people trying to save money to for-go the holiday all together and participate in smaller but more frequent "special dates" instead of spending all of their money on one night out to enjoy?
ReplyDeleteI honestly was not very surprised to see that Valentine's Day was the 4th highest spending holiday in the United States. People hype up Valentine's Day to be this super important day where you must spend a lot of money and show appreciation through often expensive gifts. In reality, Valentine's Day really isn't that important. It's a holiday created by greeting companies in order to make as much money as possible. This is obviously very beneficial to our economy due to all the excessive spending, but I definitely agree with your thought that we could do other things to save money (home cooked meals, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI was honestly expecting valentines day to be higher up on the list spending wise. I feel like it is very encouraged these days for people to buy their loved ones things on valentines day and I would have expected more. It was interesting to see this side of valentines day through your article. It was great that you had multiple pieces of data, it really backed up your article. Overall you did a really good job!
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that 2020 spending record is an increase from 2019
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that there was such a dramatic jump in projected Valentine's Day spending from 2019 to 2020; an increase of $7 billion in one year is impressive. Americans tend to celebrate holidays by spending their money. We buy gifts, themed decorations, special desserts or dishes, or other things for most holidays. I wonder how other countries celebrate these "pointless" holidays. Some countries take holidays as time to be with family, and don't buy gifts. I think our incredible focus on the economy in the U.S. contributes to the consumerism of holidays.
ReplyDeleteIt seems crazy that many people will go out of their way to buy 1 or 2 gifts for that "special someone" for only one day a year. Also, the average American spends almost $200 for one day which is a crazy amount. To me, $200 is too much but if you buy something for someone that makes it really worth it, then by all means, go for it and buy something awesome.
ReplyDeleteI think that this might be a corporate holiday but once an individual has that mentality, it ruins the holiday for most people. You could argue any holiday is a corporate holiday. As most holidays simply doesn't apply to the vast majority of Americans. When you said the average person is projected to spend 196.31$ this year on Valentines day, I think thats a little contradicting to the opinion on people saying it is a corporate holiday. I completely agree with you that people should do more sentimental things that isn't denting the wallet, however people who spend nearly 200 dollars on Valentines day might have a taste for more expensive items. Although I am curious what age group is spending that much, because it might be well off adults with career jobs. But that makes me wonder what age group participates in Valentines Day the most? - Han Nguyen
ReplyDeleteI like that you included graphs to show the increase in spending over the past years. It is really interesting that people are spending a vastly greater amount of money on one day, even though inflation has been steadily between 1%-3%. Is it the increase of prices of goods commonly bought on Valentine's day, or are consumers simply buying more?
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